Employees suspected of colluding with criminal group to defraud casinos of MOP4.5 million

A criminal group is suspected of recruiting casino employees to help “tamper” with casino cards, resulting in the defrauding of Cotai casinos of a total of MOP4.54 million.

In a press conference yesterday, the Judiciary Police said they have arrested eight Macau men and women aged 33 to 42 years old in connection with the scheme. Five of the suspects are gaming table managers, directors, and dealers, and are suspected of being recruited by the criminal group. The remaining three are believed to be key members of the group and are responsible for planning the crimes.

According to the police, the criminal group collaborated with the casino employees to remove playing cards from the casino while on duty, manipulate them, and then hand them over to the gaming table for fraud. The police received a report from the casino last Thursday and conducted an investigation, leading to the arrests on Saturday.

The police believe the criminal group committed two separate incidents of fraud in late March and early May. Each of the casino employees involved in the crime could potentially have made  a profit of MOP170,000 to MOP500,000.

The situation is described as a serious breach of trust and a significant financial loss for the casino. They stated that the police are committed to investigating this matter fully and bringing all those involved to justice.

The police believe there are still many people involved in the fraud at large, and the investigation is ongoing.

Money exchanger robbed in hotel room

A money exchanger was threatened with a wine bottle opener and robbed of about MOP100,000 during what was meant to be a routine money exchange meeting at a Macau hotel room, police said.

The victim had successfully exchanged money with the man in the past, but during their meeting on May 12, the other party repeatedly delayed the exchange, citing transfer issues. It was then that the man and an accomplice attacked the victim, police said. They stole HKD60,000 in cash and MOP40,000 in chips before fleeing.

The victim escaped and alerted hotel security, launching a police investigation. Officers soon determined the two suspects, a 53-year-old mainland Chinese man and a woman, had left Macau.

The man was intercepted last Saturday trying to cross from Macau to Hong Kong via the bridge and detained, but he refused to cooperate with the investigation. Police are still searching for the female suspect. Staff Reporter