Five-member gang busted for passing fake notes to gamblers

The Judiciary Police have busted a five-member counterfeit currency ring from mainland China that smuggled fake notes by carrying them on their persons. The gang mixed counterfeit bills with genuine ones to defraud gamblers near casinos. Two men and one woman reportedly lost HKD8,000, HKD6,000, and HKD10,000 respectively after receiving fake HKD1,000 notes. The forgeries were later detected by casino cashiers in the ZAPE area. Police seized 45 counterfeit notes from an illegal guesthouse and recovered 10 from a victim. According to a police press conference, the fake notes lacked watermarks and UV ink, bore repeated serial numbers, and were marked “PROP.”