Some 69 people appeared in a Hong Kong court Thursday after police broke up an alleged drug-running syndicate with suspected links to Chinese triad gangs, according to dpa. Sixty-eight men and 10 women, aged between 13 and 40, were arrested Tuesday following a five-month undercover operation, police said. Among those arrested were 13 students, aged from 13 to 17. Police did not release the identities of those arrested, 69 of whom were charged with a variety of offences. The 35-year-old suspected mastermind of the group and 10 alleged key members of the Sun Yee On triad were among those arrested Tuesday night. Officers seized 40 grams of ketamine and 10 grams of methamphetamine. Senior police Superintendent Leung Chin-wah said the syndicate had been active in the Tuen Mun district for about a year. Besides running and selling drugs, the group was also reportedly involved in illegal debt collection. "The syndicate utilized the ignorance of the youngsters to peddle their drugs," Leung said.
