Police have busted a human trafficking syndicate which brought illegal immigrants from Vietnam to Hong Kong. Eighteen people, including the suspected kingpins—a Chinese-Vietnamese couple—were arrested.

The 63-year-old Hong Kong man and his 43-year-old Vietnamese wife allegedly ran the group, which helped Vietnamese workers get Chinese tourist visas and brought them to Hong Kong by boat via Shenzhen, according to Apple Daily.

vietname-hk human trafficking ring
Police display confiscated cash and evidence in the case.

The group charged HK$5,000 to HK$10,000 for the “one-stop” service from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Apple Daily said citing marine police chief inspector Lee Chi-man.

The syndicate operated for about half a year during which they profited about HK$2 million, the newspaper said.

The operation was jointly carried out by marine police and the Immigration Department.

Vivienne Zeng is a journalist from China with three years' experience covering Hong Kong and mainland affairs. She has an MA in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Her work has been featured on outlets such as Al Jazeera+ and MSNBC.