The Macau Judiciary Police have arrested five Chinese nationals suspected to be related to a cross-border criminal syndicate. The criminal organization, according to the authorities, uses counterfeit chips in casinos in Macau.
The arrests followed a recent report from a casino in the Cotai area where a customer exchanged fake chips for money. After the staff realized that they had been scammed they referred the matter to the police.
Local authorities immediately launched an investigation into the matter and quickly arrested five men from mainland China at the casino. Aged between 21 and 28, the five arrestees were suspected of being a part of a criminal organization that imports fake chips into Macau. The police are currently on the lookout for three other suspects who might be related to the case.
In addition to arresting the five men, the police were able to seize a whopping 585 fake chips worth approximately $750,000. More than 130 of those were discovered in toilets and taxi compartments near the border and might have been abandoned by other participants in the criminal scheme.
Upon careful inspection, the police concluded that the fake chips were extremely realistic and difficult to differentiate from real ones at first glance.
The Macau authorities believe that they are dealing with a fairly new criminal organization. According to the police, the group is believed to have started its illegal scheme in March.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Macau Seeks to Crack Down on Gambling Crime
Speaking of gambling crime in Macau, the country recently proposed a law that would exempt minor gambling offenders from prosecution, or at least reduce their penalties, if they provide evidence against others.
In addition to exempting whistleblowers from penalties, the new law would allow the police to search the property of potential witnesses or suspects during the night.
Additionally, Macau lawmakers proposed an amendment to the region’s Criminal Procedure Code that would allow it to implement an extension of detention measure. This matter was raised after Alvin Chau, the chairman of the controversial Suncity junket, argued that the detention period of certain individuals in the Suncity case had already expired.