Three men from the mainland were arrested on Wednesday for engaging in illegal currency exchange and fraudulent activities, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said during a special press conference yesterday.
Chong identified the three suspects as a 33-year-old man surnamed Ieong, a 33-year-old man surnamed Lok and a 35-year-old man surnamed Ho, who all claimed to be jobless.
According to Chong, when a gambler at a casino in Nape asked to buy 20 HK$1,000 chips at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, gaming staff discovered that seven of the banknotes he handed over were counterfeits, all had the same number, and reported the case to the police.
Under questioning, the gambler claimed that Ieong had given him the counterfeit banknotes outside the casino without his knowledge. On the same day, in another case, the victim exchanged Hong Kong dollars with Lok and later found 10 counterfeit HK$1,000 banknotes amongst them. The police believe there were four other bogus currency exchange cases involving the three suspects.
After investigation, a total of 90 counterfeit HK$1,000 banknotes were seized by the police, 70 of which were found in a hotel room, 20 of which were related to the four cases. The bogus banknotes were poorly made, with obvious differences in paper quality and colour from genuine banknotes, and the word “COPY” printed on them, with no security features. Chong said police believe that the counterfeit banknotes have not been circulated in casinos or in the market before, and their origin remains to be investigated.
The trio refused to cooperate with the investigation, Chong said.
The three men have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing organised crime, gaming-related illegal currency exchange and fraud charges.
Police nab local illegal currency exchange dealer
Meanwhile, the Judiciary Police uncovered an illegal currency exchange incident at a hotel in the Cotai area during an anti-crime operation on Wednesday afternoon.
Chong identified the suspect as a 66-year-old man surnamed Si who claimed to be jobless.
According to Chong, Si had agreed with a gambler to exchange 38,000 yuan for gaming chips worth HK$40,000. After the gambler transferred the money via mobile payment and Si confirmed the transfer, he handed over the chips. The police who had noticed the illegal currency exchange continued monitoring the duo until the gambler started to place his bets, at which point they intercepted both. They seized HK$37,000 in chips from the gambler and HK$9,000 in chips from Si.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of operating a gaming-related illegal currency exchange business.
Mainland couple scammed in currency exchange deal
Meanwhile, a mainland Chinese couple told the Judiciary Police that they were scammed during an illegal currency exchange transaction earlier this week.
Chong identified the suspects as a 44-year-old man surnamed Chao and a 40-year-old man surnamed Lei who claimed to be a salesman and a shop owner respectively.
According to Chong, on Tuesday the couple attempted to exchange 32,725 yuan for HK$35,000 with the duo. Due to apparent network issues, they counted the cash but were unable to complete the transfer, so they returned the money to the suspects. They moved to a location with better internet access to resume the exchange operation. During this process, the suspects furtively pocketed part of the cash. Without recounting the money, the victims proceeded with the transfer, only to realise they had been scammed when exchanging the HK dollars into gaming chips, incurring a loss of HK$13,000. They subsequently reported the incident to the PJ.
Police identified the suspects and their whereabouts. On Tuesday morning, PJ officers intercepted the duo in a hotel room on Rua da Felicidade (福隆新街) in the city centre and recovered the stolen HK$13,000, along with an additional HK$41,500 believed to have been set aside for other illegal currency exchanges. They also seized the HK$22,000 in gaming chips obtained by the victims in the exchange.
The duo have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing organised crime, gaming-related illegal currency exchange and fraud charges.
Evidence seized from the three mainland fraud suspects, including 90 counterfeit HK$1,000 banknotes, five phones, two bags, and HK$10,000 in genuine banknotes, is displayed during yesterday’s special press conference at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape. – Photo: Armindo Neves
