HONG KONG – Authorities have arrested three individuals concerning a brutal knife attack on three Hong Kong Customs officers that transpired on Wednesday evening during an anti-narcotics operation in To Kwa Wan. The arrests, which occurred across Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok, and Kowloon City, involve a 66-year-old woman suspected of misleading police and two others accused of aiding the assailant’s escape. The main suspect responsible for the assault, however, remains at large, despite an intensive manhunt across the territory.
The violent encounter took place at approximately 5:09 p.m. at Honour Building on To Kwa Wan Road. Customs officers were conducting a raid when a man reportedly seized a cleaver and attacked the team. The assailant allegedly barricaded himself inside a residential unit before escaping the scene through a window and into a lightwell. Police later recovered a suspected weapon from a rear staircase.
Injuries and Investigation Details
All three injured officers were conscious upon arrival at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The victims sustained multiple lacerations requiring immediate medical attention. Injuries detailed by sources include a 29-year-old inspector with a four-centimeter cut to his left knee, a 42-year-old senior officer with two ten-centimeter wounds to his right hand, and a 36-year-old officer suffering ten-centimeter wounds to his right hand, left knee, and right leg. Photographs from the scene illustrated the severity of the attack, showing one officer bleeding heavily from his forearm while another was treated for a knee wound.
The West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit Team 2 is spearheading the complex investigation. Inside the flat, investigators recovered narcotics and five suspected imitation firearms. The primary suspect is described as a man approximately 38 years old, standing between 1.75 and 1.8 meters tall, and last seen wearing a black T-shirt, green shorts, and black trainers.
Manhunt Leads to Arrests
The rapid succession of arrests highlights the intensity of the investigation. Following the incident, a joint search involving Customs and Police at a nearby mini-storage facility uncovered a significant quantity of suspected heroin, adding substantive evidence to the drug trafficking elements of the case.
Investigators quickly learned the suspect had parked his vehicle in a nearby estate car park, which uniformed officers monitored overnight. Early Thursday morning, shortly before 1 a.m., detectives and Emergency Unit personnel intercepted a white seven-seater on Argyle Street, near Sin Tat Plaza in Mong Kok. The male driver was detained for questioning; while connected to the case, he is not believed to be the knifeman.
Further efforts led to the detention of the two individuals accused of assisting the escape in Mong Kok and Kowloon City earlier that day, followed by the arrest of the woman in Wong Tai Sin on suspicion of willfully misleading the investigation team.
Despite these breakthroughs, the focus remains on locating the assailant. The case underscores the serious risks faced by law enforcement during anti-drug operations and affirms the commitment of authorities to pursue all involved in obstructing justice and violent crime. The investigation continues with increased urgency as police appeal for public information that could lead to the attacker’s apprehension.