The Police Tactical Unit (PTU) of Kowloon West (KW) and New Territories South (NTS) Regions mounted rural operations, codenamed respectively "Underdragon" and "Clapthunder", on February 22 to interdict criminal activities. This was the first time for the two regions to work together to conduct rural operations simultaneously.

Over 150 officers from PTU KW, PTU NTS, Task Force Sub-Unit of Cheung Sha Wan Division, Rural Patrol Unit and Police Dog Unit (PDU) were deployed to make a sweeping search along some hill trails in Lion Rock, Kam Shan and Ma On Shan Country Parks. They conducted high-profile patrols to combat burglary and robbery in the rural area. The PDU assisted in eliminating potential hideouts of illegal immigrants. Leaflets were distributed to villagers and hikers to raise their awareness of crime prevention and hiking safety.

The number of burglary and robbery cases in the suburb of KW has dropped substantially from 17 cases in 2016 to three cases in 2017. This indicated the effectiveness of the rural operations.