The Judiciary Police (PJ) on Wednesday busted a mainland criminal gang for surreptitiously livestreaming, on at least 11 occasions, gambling sessions in local casinos since August last year, while offering online bets to its clients in the mainland via WeChat, involving “under-the-table bets” of about HK$5.36 million (5.52 million patacas).
The Judiciary Police held yesterday a special press conference at their headquarters in Zape about the organised crime case, during which PJ Gaming-related Crimes Division Chief Vong Chi Hou announced the arrest of three mainlanders, including a suspected key member of the gang – a 35-year-old man surnamed Wan; a 31-year-old man surnamed Li; and a 29-year-old surnamed Peng.
According to Vong, his division received intelligence last September that some people at a VIP room of a casino in Cotai were filming gambling sessions with their mobile phones with the aim of conducting illegal betting activities, involving at least 10 members of the gang, including Wan.
On Wednesday, according to Vong, the gang sent several of its members to the VIP room to repeat “the same old trick” – Wan for placing bets on a gambling table, Li livestreaming the gambling sessions on WeChat and Peng marking down the number of winners and losers in each gambling session. The trio were caught red-handed by PJ officers at the scene. In the operation, the Judiciary Police seized HK$344,000 in chips, HK$600,000 in cash, miniature earphones and a mobile phone used for parallel betting, Vong noted.
Vong said that the trio refused to cooperate with the police, but, according to PJ investigators, the casino chips placed by the trio on gambling tables that day amounted to HK$200,000, HK$280,000 and HK$280,000, while the parallel wagers exceeded more than HK$1 million.
Since last August, the gang had conducted 11 live-streaming gambling activities, each lasting about half an hour to an hour, with only HK$790,000 having been wagered at local casinos but about HK$5.36 million having been staked “under the table” via WeChat, according to Vong.
Vong said at yesterday afternoon’s press conference that the Judiciary Police believe that a dozen more suspects, mainly mainlanders, were still at large, while most of the online gamblers were mainlanders.
The Judiciary Police transferred the trio to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, where they are facing charges of organised crime and illegal gambling operations.
According to Law No. 20/2024 on Combating Illegal Gambling Offences, the suspects face up to eight years in jail.
The three hooded suspects from the mainland are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle after yesterday’s special press conference. – Photos: Yuki Lei
Evidence such as Hong Kong dollar banknotes and casino chips as well as a miniature earphone is displayed during yesterday’s press conference.
