The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man from the Chinese mainland on Sunday for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities, PJ spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chao identified the suspect as a 33-year-old male surnamed Meng who claimed to be jobless.
According to Chao, PJ officers on patrol in a casino in Cotai on Sunday evening witnessed Meng engaging in an illegal exchange deal with a middle-aged local male gambler. Chao noted that Meng and the gambler agreed to exchange 9,050 yuan for HK$10,000 in chips.
Chao said that after the transaction was completed, the gambler immediately entered the casino to gamble. The police intercepted both and seized a smartphone and HK$18,600 in chips from Meng, along with HK$1,000 in chips from the gambler.
Under questioning, Meng admitted to having engaged in illegal exchange activities in Macau since the beginning of this month, claiming to have earned HK$100 for every HK$10,000 exchanged, resulting in a total profit of HK$2,000.
Meng has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing an illegal currency exchange charge.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows a smartphone and HK$18,600 in chips seized from the illegal currency exchange suspect, along with HK$1,000 in chips confiscated from his client.
