Hong Kong police have arrested five drivers from Uber in a sting operation and searched its office, media reports said Tuesday, in the latest blow for the global ride-sharing startup.
Uber has encountered a string of regulatory roadblocks as it grows around the world.
Police officers posing as customers rented five private cars through a mobile app Tuesday morning and paid by credit card, police said in a statement.
"Upon arriving at the destination, the officers paid with credit cards and then revealed their identities, arresting drivers aged between 28 to 65," the statement said without confirming that the drivers were from Uber.
It said they were held for "illegally driving a car for rental purpose and driving without third-party insurance".
News footage from Cable Television showed police raiding an office which displayed an Uber logo and taking away three people.
The drivers had been providing their services through Uber, Hong Kong Commercial Radio reported.
The company has been operating in Hong Kong for about one year.
"Uber ensures that all rides are covered by insurance, and all drivers on the platform undergo an extensive background check," the company's spokesman Harold Li told AFP, without confirming their drivers were arrested.
Footage showed five vehicles being cordoned off, including BMW and Mercedes Benz sedans.
Uber has faced setbacks around the world as it expands internationally.
An Uber driver in Brazil's financial capital Sao Paulo responded to a call, only to find himself ambushed by a group of regular taxi drivers.
Last month the firm suspended its UberPOP service in France, six months after being banned.
There have been a string of protests against Uber by black cab drivers in London who say it represents unfair competition.
But in New York, city officials last week scrapped plans to cap the number of vehicles operated by Uber.
Editorial Comment:
After revelations about what Dave said to Boris, we now have news that certain TfL top brass are having clandestine meetings in coffee bars with Uber executives. Ridiculous scripted lies have been told not only to the media and the trade, but also to GLA transport committee members. Politicians are now looking at what's happening inside TfL.
Uber have run roughshod over Taxi regulation world wide and according to customer allegations, account details have been hacked and credit cards ravished. Media reports tell of Uber Execs being arrested, offices raided by police where records and computers were taken away for forensic examination.
It's been reported in the press that the Uber partners behind vehicle finance Santana, are now under Federal investigation and rumours abound that Goldman Sacks will be pulling the plug.
Time is running out at the TfL house of cards which is about to come tumbling down.
Already rats have started to jump from the sinking ship, leaving just the patsys behind to take the flack.