DSIP Alan Cheung receives his award

Detective Senior Inspector Alan Cheung Siu-lun of the Bureau's Counterfeit and Forgery Division was presented with the second runners-up prize for International Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in the United States on September 14.

He was presented the award by the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) who hailed his efforts in cracking a syndicate which could have robbed the credit card industry of up to US$20 million.

The DSIP headed the investigation which saw the smashing of two counterfeit credit card factories in Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun in 1996 and the subsequent jailing of the syndicate's three major players last year.

The investigation was sparked after a bank detected suspicious use of Point of Sale Terminals, the credit card swipe machines used by banks' merchants. Monitoring of the transactions led to the raiding of the two factories and subsequent arrests.

The syndicate was found to have close links with others in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Japan.

Two of the three charged were convicted after pleading guilty while the third was convicted after a complex trial, in which painstaking forensic analysis of the more than 2,000 exhibits seized in the raids and further inquiries, built up a strong prosecution case.

DSIP Cheung was commended by the IAFCI for his drive, persistence and ability to keep the investigation focused while dealing with obstacles hindering a successful prosecution.

"I am very happy to get the award as it recognises all the good work the CCB has done to fight counterfeit credit card crime," he told OffBeat after his return from the US.

"I did not expect to win as this is such a large international body. I guess it is an extra bonus!"

The first prize was also won by a Hong Kong colleague, an Independent Commission Against Corruption officer. Second prize went to an officer from the Malaysian police, the first time all three awards had been won by officers from Asia.

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