Police impersonator arrested in casino fraud scheme

A 22-year-old mainland man was arrested after allegedly impersonating a police officer to defraud a middle-aged victim of HKD60,000 in casino chips.

The suspect reportedly lured the victim with promises of a favorable exchange rate before claiming to be a law enforcement officer and confiscating the chips.

According to the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday, the incident occurred on Tuesday when authorities received a report from the victim, who claimed he had been approached by the suspect in the smoking room of a Cotai casino.

The suspect claimed to offer a “preferential exchange rate” and allegedly offered to help the victim exchange his casino chips. The victim, interested in the deal, followed the suspect to another hotel lobby where the exchange was to take place.

Once there, the suspect allegedly flashed a fake police badge, claiming to be a PJ officer.

He accused the victim of engaging in illegal foreign exchange activities, asserting that he needed to confiscate the HKD60,000 in chips as evidence. After taking the chips, the suspect ordered the victim to leave the casino and not return.

The victim, feeling uneasy and suspecting he had been scammed, later reported the incident to the police. The PJ launched an investigation, corroborating the victim’s account of events.

By the afternoon, the suspect was intercepted at the Gongbei border checkpoint as he attempted to flee Macau.

Investigators confirmed that he was neither a Public Security Police officer nor a member of the PJ.

Following the arrest, it was revealed that the suspect had transferred the defrauded chips to an unknown associate in another Cotai casino, who then wired the funds to his account in mainland China.

During questioning, the suspect admitted that he had been planning the elaborate scheme since November.

He revealed that he had purchased a fake police ID online for just RMB40 specifically to carry out the fraud and disclosed that he had lost approximately HKD300,000 in gambling since the end of last year.

The PJ stated that the suspect’s criminal activities may extend beyond this single incident, and they are urging any other potential victims to come forward.

The case has been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office for further legal proceedings. Victoria Chan