Two men from the mainland were arrested for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities on Wednesday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the two suspects as 35-year-old and 33-year-old brothers surnamed Deng. The second one told the police that he is a businessman.
According to Cheong, on Wednesday afternoon, PJ officers on patrol witnessed the two suspects engaging in an illegal currency exchange with a middle-aged mainland gambler at a hotel in Nape. The gambler transferred 70,000 yuan (78,140 patacas) and after receiving the funds, the brothers handed HK$70,000 in cash to him. After concluding the deal, the two suspects and the gambler left. The gambler then gambled away HK$14,000 before the police intercepted them separately. The gambler agreed to cooperate as a witness in the investigation.
According to Cheong, it was the job of the 35-year-old brother to round up gamblers around the hotel and then introduce them to his younger brother to arrange the illegal currency exchange.
Under questioning, the brothers admitted to having engaged in illegal currency exchange activities since mid-April, earning a profit of 30,000 yuan. They also told the police that they had exchanged HK$70,000 for 70,000 yuan, thereby earning 5,000 yuan in the latest case. The police confiscated HK$247,000 from the younger brother and HK$56,000 in chips from the gambler.
The two brothers were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing an illegal currency exchange charge, according to Cheong.
2 suspects involved in illegal currency exchange
Meanwhile, another two men from the mainland were arrested for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities on Wednesday, Cheong said during the same press conference.
Cheong identified the two suspects as a 26-year-old man surnamed Wong, and a 29-year-old man surnamed Ng, both from mainland who told the police that they were jobless.
According to Cheong, shortly after midnight on Wednesday, a security guard at a casino in Cotai informed the Judiciary Police that two gamblers were having an argument with two suspected currency exchange dealers, after which the police arrived at the scene.
The two gamblers then agreed to cooperate as witnesses in the investigation.
According to Cheong, on Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wong negotiated a currency exchange deal with two gamblers, and each exchanged HK$10,000 in chips from Wong for 9,500 yuan. Then, at 9:30 p.m., the two gamblers asked Wong to transfer HK$40,000 to the mainland. As Wong did not have enough money in his account, he called Ng, who transferred 37,500 yuan to the Alipay account of one of the gamblers, but later the two gamblers realised that they could not withdraw the cash and so did not intend to give the HK$40,000 in cash to Ng, thus leading to a noisy row.
Under questioning, Wong admitted to having engaged in illegal currency exchange activities this month, earning a total profit of HK$1,000, but Ng refused to cooperate with the investigation. The police confiscated HK$40,000 from the two suspects – Ng and Wong.
The two suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, each facing illegal currency exchange charges, according to Cheong.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Un Hong looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Armindo Neves
