Officers received intelligence that these women, mostly African, would actively approach male drinkers in bars located on Luard Road in Wan Chai, claiming they could offer sex services. As the victims became drunk, the women would steal their credit cards and hand the cards to their partners.

The partners would then go shopping in stores nearby using the cards. In some cases, the suspects would watch the drunk men pay by entering the password of their bank cards. Then they would steal the cards and use the passwords to withdraw money from victims' bank accounts.

A total of seven victims lost up to HK$300,000 in these cases.

The force had set up a special task force around half a year earlier targeting such crimes. Officers found that most of the 12 women were from Tanzania. They dressed sexily in order to entice the drunk men.

Around 1am last Saturday, around 80 officers from Wan Chai district crime squad, Hong Kong Island regional intelligence unit and the police tactical unit arrested the 12 women, aged 29 to 52, for theft and obtaining property by deception in a joint operation.

All of the women hold recognizance forms issued by the Immigration Department. One of the arrested women has stayed in Hong Kong for almost eight years.

Officers also seized wigs when making the arrests, and suspected that the women used disguises so that the victims could not recognize them.

On another note, police said four foreign men have been arrested over a fight that took place on August 24 in a Wan Chai bar. Officers said the four arrested men aged 22 to 39 are from Africa and Middle East. They were arrested for theft, obtaining property by deception, fighting in public and assault.

Investigation suggested that the case is not related to triad society, police pointed out.