HONG KONG: A syndicate suspected of supplying half of the ketamine in Sheung Shui has been smashed by police after a four-month operation that lead to the arrest of 30 people. Twenty of those arrested are students, including a 12-year-old.

The arrests were made on Wednesday in 10 sites in Sheung Shui, including games centers and Internet cafes.

One suspect was taken to Kwu Tung for investigation.

Police New Territories North superintendent Steve Li Wing-hong said the triad-controlled syndicate was involved in 17 drug trafficking and triad-related crimes over the past four months.

Seven men and five women were arrested for drug offences, and nine men and nine women were arrested for triad offences.

Li said the syndicate recruited the youngsters to act as dealers, selling drugs to their friends and peers.

"The syndicate recruited the youngsters from some hot spots, including games centers and Internet cafes," he said. "They recruit the youngsters because they want to avoid police detection."

The youngsters bought the drug over the telephone, Li added. But police did not detect any campus drug abuse during the operation.

Police seized 25 grams of ketamine, a small amount of ice and 100 tablets of ecstasy.

The operation is on-going, and Li said they are still seeking another 10 suspects in the case.

Commissioner of Police Tang King-shing said there were 609 youngsters arrested for serious drug offences in the first half of this year, representing a 9 percent increase from a year earlier.

Speaking in Sham Shui Po fight crime committee meeting yesterday, Tang pledged to fight drug problems among young people.

Tang said the police are greatly concerned about youngsters abusing drugs, and will work with the government to address the problem.

He said the police will deploy more officers as schools liaison officers. The officers will be charged with helping to detect young drug abusers for earlier intervention.

Tang added that police will improve their intelligence gathering, and cooperate with overseas law enforcement agencies to combat the sources of drugs.

(HK Edition 08/07/2009 page1)