The two-day 6th Meeting of INTERPOL Asia-Pacific Expert Group on Asian Organised Crime, co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Force, came to a successful conclusion on June 24.

Chairperson of the European Working Group on AOC, Mr Frank Francis, and representatives from Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands also attended the meeting as observers.

Chief Superintendent Yu Mun-sang of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, who is the Chairperson of the Expert Group, said: "During the two-day meeting, participants had useful and fruitful discussions on a wide range of prevailing transnational crimes, including triad activities, cross-border smuggling, money laundering, online casino gambling and bookmaking.

"While exchanging their experiences and strategies of tackling these organised crimes, members also agreed at the meeting to participate in specific joint operations under the coordination of INTERPOL in order to combat AOC more effectively."

In addition, Mr Yu and Mr Francis, representing the Asia-Pacific Expert Group and the European Working Group respectively, signed an agreement to foster closer co-operation and intelligence sharing, and to strive for more opportunities of mounting joint operations.

"Multilateral collaboration and partnership are vital for addressing transnational criminal activities. The Expert Group will continue to meet to provide an excellent opportunity for member jurisdictions to strengthen international co-operation in fighting organised crimes on a regional and global basis," Mr Yu added.

INTERPOL initiated Project AOC in 2006, which has established the Expert Group to provide an international working platform for law enforcement agencies to fight AOC worldwide by boosting co-operation among member jurisdictions, providing operational support, and enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement officers in investigating cross-border organised crime.

Meeting on a bi-annual basis, the Expert Group will hold the next meeting on the Mainland at the end of this year. Previous meetings were held in Thailand, Singapore, Macao SAR and Malaysia.

The INTERPOL Expert Group meeting has brought together in Hong Kong some 40 senior crime investigators from 14 member jurisdictions