Malaysian police have captured the leader of Hong Kong's most notorious triad, a report said today.

The New Straits Times said Kai Hong - wanted in three countries for a string of offences and the leader of the Sun Yee Onn triad - had been arrested recently during an operation against an international drug syndicate.

A police spokesman told AFP efforts were still being made to confirm the identity of the man thought to be Kai Hong.

The New Straits Times said Kai Hong, also known as Wan Chai Tai Thien Wong, or Wan Chai Heavenly King, had been on the run for about a decade.

Malaysia was his second home for about eight years, the paper said, adding that he had entered the country regularly, mostly on a Gambian passport.

Big spender

He has been detained under the Dangerous Drugs Act, which allows for a minimum two-year detention, it said.

Malaysian police arrested four Hong Kong nationals here earlier this month following one of the world's largest illegal narcotics busts in Fiji, but it is not clear whether the man thought to be Kai Hong was among those arrests.

Kai Hong is wanted in Hong Kong and Macau for a wave of killings and car bomb attacks. He has also been linked to the attempted murder of the police chief in the former Portugese enclave, the New Straits Times said.

He was known by some in Malaysia as a goldsmith, by others as a property speculator with a penchant for luxury cars, and had a reputation as a big spender, the paper said. - AFP