Macau: 4 arrested over casino scam

Four women scammed a casino in Cotai and took HK$2m (US$258,000) between May and June.

Macau.- Four people have been arrested in connection with a scam through which a female dealer and three other women took HK$2m (US$258,000) from a casino in Cotai over two weeks between May and June.

The dealer started games with no gamblers at her baccarat game table. Her accomplices appeared later and placed bets after learning the result of the game. The dealer paid them winnings ranging from HK$60,000 to HK$150,000.

The casino’s supervisors reported suspicions to police. Officers says the women will face charges of organised crime. The female dealer could face up to eight years in prison.

Police also seized four smartphones, money and 12 HK$10,000 gaming chips.

Ho Chan Nam, Judiciary Police spokesman, believes there could have been a fourth person involved in the planning of the scam.

In April, a total of 103 people were arrested in Macau after a joint operation between the city’s Judiciary Police and mainland Chinese security units.

Police said that those arrested were suspected of taking part in a scam that used bank-teller training notes to cheat gamblers who sought to exchange Chinese yuan for Hong Kong dollars in or around Macau casinos

73 cases of the scam were detected in Macau, with MOP10m (US$1.25m) reported to have been lost to the ring.