HONG KONG police yesterday arrested one of six suspects who fled with millions in ransom money after a kidnapping, the city’s new police commissioner Stephen Lo Wei-chung said.

    City authorities embarked on a massive operation to hunt down six suspected kidnappers after the release of a woman last Tuesday following a ransom payment of HK$28 million (US$4.8 million) from her family members.

    The arrest was made during the police’s latest search efforts yesterday morning.

    “We arrested one of the suspects relating to this kidnapping case in Lo Wu this morning,” Lo, who has replaced Andy Tsang Wai-hung as the city’s police chief, told reporters.

    The suspect was attempting to sneak into the Chinese mainland via the checkpoint, which links with Shenzhen’s Luohu Checkpoint.

    Lo said the search for other suspects had been extended to the mainland.

    “At the moment, we are still doing everything we can to look for other culprits. We are cooperating with mainland authorities in order to find the wanted persons,” Lo said, without giving further details.

    Television footage showed that officers also descended on the rural border town of Sha Tau Kok, setting up road blocks.

    Hundreds of armed officers have combed through Hong Kong’s rural areas, including country parks and villages, since the release of 29-year-old Queenie Rosita Law, with helicopters and marine vessels also deployed.

    Law, who is the granddaughter of late textiles tycoon Law Ting-pong, said late Thursday in a press conference that she was not injured.

    She was held for at least three days by the kidnappers, who had initially demanded up to HK$50 million for her release, but settled on HK$28 million.

    (SD-Agencies)