Police today said 12 Hong Kong residents were detained by the Yantian Branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau for the offence of crossing the boundary illegally and the force is investigating the case in the direction of whether someone organised or committed cross-boundary crimes.

Police received a reply from the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department yesterday stating that the Guangdong Coast Guard intercepted a boat suspected of crossing the boundary illegally inside boundary waters under their jurisdiction at around 9am on August 23.

Coast Guard officers discovered 12 Hong Kong residents on board and arrested them for the offence of crossing the boundary illegally.

After an initial investigation, the Yantian Branch detained the 12 suspects for further investigation.

Investigations revealed that the 12 people boarded a speedboat arranged by a smuggling syndicate in Po Toi O pier in Sai Kung, New Territories, Hong Kong at around 7am on August 23. The speedboat was driven by one of the suspects.

They planned to flee to Taiwan via Mainland marine waters to evade criminal responsibility in Hong Kong and had paid the syndicate a fee before boarding the speedboat in Hong Kong for the smuggling arrangements.

The Yantian Branch is still investigating and will submit the case to the Yantian People's Procuratorate in Shenzhen for arrest approval according to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China.

According to the information provided by the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, and after reviewing the Marine Department’s Vessel Traffic Services System and the Marine Police’s Digital Radar Security System, the force suspected that the speedboat departed from Po Toi O at around 7am on August 23, and entered Mainland waters through the southeastern side of the Hong Kong waters boundary at around 7.30am.

The speedboat later passed through the effective detection range of the systems. Its latest detectable time by the Marine Police’s Digital Radar Security System was at around 8am on the same day and it was 10.9 nautical miles outside the boundary of Hong Kong waters and was steering towards the southeast direction.

The Guangdong Coast Guard’s announcement noted that at around 9am that day, a speedboat suspected of crossing the boundary illegally was intercepted in marine waters under its jurisdiction (21°54'00''N，114°53'00'' E).

The location was approximately 26 nautical miles off the southeastern side of the boundary of Hong Kong waters.