The Judiciary Police arrested five men from the mainland on Thursday for engaging in illegal currency exchange deals, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The five suspects, a 34-year-old male surnamed Wang, a 37-year-old male surnamed Du, a 33-year-old male surnamed Du, and a 31-year-old male surnamed Wang all claimed to be jobless. The 38-year-old suspect surnamed Wu is a construction worker.
Chong did not reveal if the Wangs or the Dus are related.
According to Chong, a middle-aged woman from the mainland wanted to transfer her casino winnings of HK$750,000 to the mainland. She contacted an illegal currency exchange gang on Thursday to arrange a deal. Three of the suspects met her in her guestroom at a hotel in Cotai for the deal. Meanwhile, the woman discovered that HK$200,000 had disappeared and suspected that her female friend who was staying with her in the hotel guest room, had stolen the money, leading her to report her suspicion to the police immediately.
Chong did not elaborate on the theft. He only said that the police are following up on the case of the stolen money.
The police arrived at the scene and arrested the three men allegedly engaged in illegal currency exchange activities. They then apprehended two more men in their guestroom who were also allegedly involved in illegal currency exchange business.
Under questioning, the five suspects admitted to having participated in illegal currency exchange activities since the beginning of this month, earning HK$60 for every exchange of HK$10,000. The police seized HK$115,000 in cash and HK$27,000 in chips from the suspects.
The five suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing illegal currency exchange charges.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Ada Lei
