PJ uncovers 70 fraud cases involving HKD18 million cash

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has recently announced an investigation into a mainland criminal group involved in fraudulent activities, specifically in the distribution of counterfeit banknotes. In a total of 70 cases between January 2023 and March 7, 2024, involving losses of approximately HKD18 million, 88 people (55 men and 33 women) have been arrested, of which a total of 65 people were detained.

A total of 19,758 counterfeit banknotes were seized. The criminal group utilized two types of counterfeit notes, the first of which are counterfeit Bank of China banknotes. These were marked with the words “practice banknotes”, which makes their circulation illegal.

The second type are Hong Kong Dollar banknotes marked with “Film and television props, circulation prohibited”.

While such notes are very obviously fake upon closer individual inspection, the criminal group employs various tactics to deceive victims and avoid detection.

They target individuals near entertainment centers and use WeChat for money exchange, offering rates higher than the market price to attract victims. Once contact is established, the group arranges transactions and sends a team to meet the victim in Macau.

During the transaction, victims are not allowed to thoroughly inspect the banknotes, as to do so would expose the fraud. Instead, they are shown the banknotes briefly and then receive a large sum of money. Additionally, the money is tightly held together by either rubber bands or cloth strips to ensure victims cannot easily inspect the banknotes.

After the victims realized they had been swindled, they contacted the authorities and the Judiciary Police, working with their mainland counterparts, successfully apprehended the entire

criminal group network. During the operation, the mainland police arrested 26 people in the mainland, including 21 people who are now under criminal detention.

The 21 people were all mainland residents, aged from 24 to 43 years.

The suspects, all living in the Guangdong province, were directed by two leaders, surnamed Wei and Gong, who arranged and managed this sophisticated network with a financial division, drivers, and members who were in charge of meeting up with victims in Zhuhai to “assist” them should they have inquiries and perform cash drop-offs. Staff Reporter