The Office of the Secretary for Security (GSS) Wong Sio Chak said in a statement yesterday that HK$71 million in cash and chips was sized by the Judiciary Police (PJ) in nine months.
The statement noted that in recent years the number of illegal currency exchange gangs operating in Macau’s casinos and their surrounding facilities has increased.
The GSS had been calling for the criminalisation of illegal currency exchange operations since 2023, the statement noted.
The statement said that following the enactment of the Law to Combat Crimes of Illegal Gambling on October 29 last year, and up until the end of July this year, the Judiciary Police arrested 597 individuals linked to illegal currency exchange gangs, involving 387 cases.
The Judiciary Police have also seized over HK$56 million in cash and more than HK$15 million in gambling chips amounting to HK$71 million.
In response to heightened police enforcement, the statement said, the operational space for “illegal currency exchange gangs” has been significantly reduced recently.
However, the statement pointed out, some gangs have adapted to the new law by adopting more covert methods, such as conducting transactions inside vehicles or using cars to transport cash, in an attempt to evade detection, the statement said.
Simultaneously, the existence of such gangs is fundamentally driven by tourists’ demand for cash, the statement pointed out that, with some tourists disregarding the illegal nature and associated criminal risks of unauthorised currency exchange deals, choosing instead to engage with these gangs.
Consequently, the statement said, Macau’s law enforcement agencies anticipate that combating currency exchange gangs will be a long-term challenge, requiring sustained and unwavering efforts.
The statement also said that the Judiciary Police will continue to review the implementation of the law, optimise enforcement efforts, and adjust strategic deployments.
Through robust, uninterrupted, and precise operations, the Judiciary Police will continue to combat illegal currency exchange and cross-border crime, the statement said.
The Judiciary Police, according to the statement, are committed to reducing the public security risks caused by currency exchange gangs, safeguarding social order and public security, and creating a more secure and orderly environment for Macau’s economic and social development.
Undated file photo of the erstwhile S. Francisco Barracks, which now houses the Office of the Secretary for Security – Photo courtesy of GSS
