Hong Kong police announced on the 30th that they have cracked down on organized crime across Hong Kong, arresting a total of 82 members of the triad and dismantling a criminal organization that laundering about Hong Kong dollars. In the process, police also seized assets worth 15 million Hong Kong dollars, including a large “Labubu” doll estimated at 1 million Hong Kong dollars.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong, Hong Kong police said at a press conference that they raided several places across the city from dawn and conducted arrest operations. The arrested number is 55 men and 27 women, ranging from 19 to 78 years old. They include the organization’s chief and key members, and police officials explained that they have been tracking the organization for the past two and a half years. “The police have been paying attention to the expansion and activities of high-ranking officials of the triad,” the official said. “The organization has committed crimes in many ways, and its members have been subtle and arrogant.”
The organization’s chief executive is a 44-year-old man who has been laundering money worth HK$40 billion through a trust company he founded in 2021, police said. In addition to the traditional triad crime of prostitution, gambling, drugs, and illegal loans, the chief mobilized relatives and acquaintances to conduct large-scale money laundering. The police explained, “He applied for a false loan by using a trust company pretending to be an import trader, and did not hold assets in his name, but washed real estate, vehicles, luxury watches, liquor, and luxury goods in the name of family, friends, and members.”
In the operation, the police froze a total of HK$1.13 billion in criminal proceeds and secured HK$8 million in cash. The confiscated items included 11,000 bottles of wine, luxury watches, jewelry, luxury handbags, gold, luxury cars and alcohol, along with numerous bank documents. In particular, there was a large La Boo doll the size of a human. According to sources, the La Boo doll is estimated to be worth about 1 million Hong Kong dollars. Earlier in June, a 1.6-meter-high La Boo doll was sold for 820,000 yuan at an auction in Beijing, and according to the manufacturer Pop Mart, there are only 15 of the same dolls around the world.
Designed by Hong Kong-based Dutch artist Leung Ka-sing as a motif for elves in the Nordic forest, La couple features long ears, big eyes, and a big mouth with nine teeth. Various contents such as opening the La couple’s box and changing La couple’s clothes are drawing attention on social networking services (SNS). As celebrities such as Lisa and singer Rihanna of the group Blackpink continued to authenticate them, La couple’s popularity spread beyond China to Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. They lined up from 3 a.m. in Los Angeles (LA) in the U.S. and Tokyo in Japan, and even physical clashes occurred at a new store in Bali, Indonesia. Sales were temporarily suspended due to safety concerns when a scramble broke out at a store in London, the U.K.
Hong Kong police said, “This operation has dealt a big blow to the organization’s profit structure, and we believe (the organization) has been substantially dismantled,” adding that the investigation is ongoing and further arrests are possible.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
