Hong Kong police seize 30 kilos of explosives in plot to attack police

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Hong Kong police seize 30 kilos of explosives in plot to attack police

MAO SIQIAN XINHUA A computer technician and his parents, who were accused of turning their public housing flat into a laboratory for making bombs, were arrested in Wong Tai Sin.

Hong Kong police said three suspects, aged 31 and 63, from the same family, were picked up on Monday following a raid on their home in a public housing estate on suspicion of plotting bomb attacks to kill police officers and judges.

The police also seized 30 kilograms of bomb-making chemicals and dangerous materials. Twenty kilograms of the chemicals and materials were found in the 31-year-old technician's room in the flat where he lived with his parents. It was believed that the room had been used to make bombs.

Among the items seized were bomb-making devices, including wires, circuit boards and timing devices. Ten more kilograms of bomb-making chemicals were found in a storage facility allegedly rented by the man in San Po Kong.

The chemicals included triacetone triperoxide and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, both of which could cause massive explosions even in small quantities, and are commonly used by terrorists overseas, the police said.

The technician is believed to have encouraged others on social media to attack police and government buildings in Hong Kong, including the police headquarters, between July 2021 and April this year.

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He said that attacks on police officers and plans to set off bombs in public areas have happened occasionally or uncovered in the past five years, and that law enforcement agencies have beefed up security by upgrading their strategies with plans to handle unexpected situations and using new equipment and technologies.

Under Hong Kong's Crimes Ordinance, anyone convicted of making or possessing explosives illegally can be jailed for up to 14 years.