Eight mainland Chinese residents were arrested over the past week for working illegally in Hong Kong, including providing services as tour guides, and helping locals buy food, groceries and daily necessities on the other side of the border.

Immigration Department deputy commander Leung Tsz-chung said on Tuesday that the arrests, which took place from January 13 till Monday, involved officers posing as customers and reaching out to suspected illegal service providers through social media.

“Our team had been closely monitoring social media platforms and identified a group of suspicious service providers from the mainland offering illegal cross-border services, including ‘reverse purchasing’ and acting as tour guides,” Leung said.

He explained that reverse purchasing involved mainland individuals being hired by Hongkongers to buy food, groceries and other daily necessities at stores, supermarkets and restaurants across the border, and then physically carrying them back to the city for a fee.

Illegal tour guide services involved mainlanders showing their fellow residents around Hong Kong, introducing them to local attractions and helping them take photos for a fee.

“These illegal workers charged anywhere between HK$100 (US$13) to HK$300 per hour for tour guide services and HK$100 to HK$200 per transaction for reverse purchasing,” Leung added.