Police in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong Province have arrested more than 3,600 people in a joint operation to clamp down on cross-border triad crimes, Hong Kong police said on Thursday.

CGTN Photo

The three-month operation, code-named "Thunderbolt 17", aims to curb illegal activities among triad societies and organized crime syndicates in the area. 

1,135 residents from the Chinese mainland and 152 foreign nationals aged between 12 and 80 were detained due to drug-related crimes or links to prostitution.

CGTN Photo

Hong Kong police said that they raided buildings such as guest houses being used as covers for illegal gambling and prostitution, and cracked people-smuggling syndicates, loan shark rings and sellers of imitation firearms. 

Police also seized 1,600 cannabis plants worth around 26 million HK dollars (3.3 million US dollars) on two farms in the New Territories in northern Hong Kong, police said.