314 Public Order
During the year, the bureau seized 1 892 counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes. Owing to the successful intelligence partnerships with the Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies, cases of counterfeit currency were contained at a low level.
As the leading enforcement agency, the bureau continued to excel in combating commercial crimes. One successful prosecution involved a case of money laundering which resulted in the arrest and subsequent conviction of one male remittance agent for laundering a total of $2.84 billion of crime proceeds between 2003 and 2008. The defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for 7.5 years in the High Court in November 2010.
Technology Crime
The Police received a total of 1 643 reports of technology crime in 2010. About 83.2 per cent of the reported cases were related to online games, e-business fraud and unauthorised access to computers. The associated total monetary loss was about $22.2 million.
The Technology Crime Division of the Commercial Crime Bureau strived to combat these crimes through proactive intelligence-led operations, close liaison with overseas law enforcement agencies and extensive publicity campaigns. It also continued to work closely with Mainland and overseas counterparts and industry stakeholders to strengthen its capacity to combat cross boundary technology criminal activities.
In view of the rapid development of information technology and the generalisation of its usage, the Police adopted a holistic strategy to fight and prevent technology crime. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Police College, the division offered seven professional certification courses in 2010 for local and overseas law enforcement agencies in the Asia and South Pacific region to enhance their technology crime investigation techniques and computer forensic capabilities.
Dangerous Drugs
Tackling youth drug abuse continued to be a priority of the Police Force in 2010. The Police Force continued to strengthen its role in preventive education and anti-drug publicity.
The majority of arrests were in respect of ketamine. There was a substantial increase in the amount of cocaine seized, with some large seizures at wholesale level in individual cases contributing greatly to the upward trend. The majority of manufacturing cases involved the conversion of cocaine powder into the form commonly known as 'crack'. A total of nine premises used for such purposes were neutralised. Furthermore, two cases involving the manufacture of methamphetamine were detected.
The Narcotics Bureau joined efforts with the Mainland and overseas counterparts to tackle cross-boundary and transnational trafficking. These efforts led to substantial drug seizures and the dismantling of drug production sites outside Hong Kong. A total of 1 372 kilogrammes and 100 tablets of illicit drugs plus 139
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