Six arrested after HKD500,000 lost in illegal currency exchange

A suspected currency exchanger allegedly fell victim to a “double-cross,” losing HKD500,000 during an illegal currency exchange transaction.

Police from Macau and Zhuhai jointly arrested six mainland Chinese men. Four were apprehended in Macau, while two were arrested in mainland China.

According to the Judiciary Police (PJ), the alleged victim carried HKD1.89 million in cash to a hotel room in Cotai on January 10 for an illegal exchange with two mainland Chinese men.

After exchanging HKD10,000, the victim was choked from behind, forced to the ground, and threatened with exposure of his illegal exchange activities to the police if he did not hand over HKD600,000 in cash. After three hours of negotiation, the two assailants fled with HKD500,000 in cash.

The victim later handed the remaining HKD1.38 million in cash to an accomplice outside the hotel. After failing to contact the two suspects to demand the money back, he reported the incident to the police.

The two suspected robbers later met with four other individuals, converted the stolen money into renminbi, and transferred it to bank accounts before leaving Macau via the Hengqin Port.

The PJ intercepted the four suspects at Border Gate checkpoint, in hotel rooms in Cotai, and on streets in ZAPE. The other two suspects were intercepted by mainland police in Zhuhai on January 11. Ricaela Diputado