Hong Kong police arrest three suspects for stolen credit cards on flights and purchases in Vietnam

Hong Kong police have arrested three mainland Chinese visitors in a crackdown on a syndicate that stole credit cards from passengers on flights to the city and then made purchases through shops in Vietnam.

A source familiar with the matter said the syndicate, which used a hotel room near Hong Kong International Airport as an operations center, had pocketed millions of Hong Kong dollars in the past three months.

Senior Inspector Wong Yuen-yan of the Sham Shui Po District Crime Squad announced details of the operation on Friday, saying officers discovered 42 receipts in the hotel room, dated November 12 or 13, containing card transactions worth VND360 million (HK$110,000). ).

A source familiar with the matter said police began investigating the syndicate about five weeks ago after learning about its activities on flights to Hong Kong from Asian countries such as India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Agents had identified a 34-year-old man, reportedly a key member of the syndicate, who had been renting a room near the airport since August to use as an operations center, the source said.

The man had a round-trip travel permit allowing residents of mainland China to visit Hong Kong, and investigations revealed that he had made several visits to the city in the past three months and had checked into the same hotel near the airport.