14 arrested for casino extortion & harbouring
The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced yesterday that they have busted a criminal protection racket involving security staff (including two managers) at a casino in Cotai.
The syndicate had extorted protection fees from individuals involved in gaming-related crimes, engaged in coercion, and harboured offenders since March last year, obtaining at least HK$1.4 million in illicit proceeds.
A total of 14 suspects have been arrested, comprising nine security staff members (two managers, one supervisor, and six security guards) at the casino and five individuals acting as “intermediaries”.
The nine security staff members are all local men, while the five “intermediaries” comprise a local man, two local women, and two female residents from the Chinese mainland.
Details of the case were disclosed during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. The PJ spokespeople did not identify the casino where the syndicate had its operational base.
In July 2025, the police received intelligence indicating that security guards at a casino in Cotai were acting as a “protection umbrella” for gaming offenders in exchange for protection money. Following an in-depth investigation, the police identified a criminal organisation led and structured primarily by the casino’s senior security personnel.
The syndicate’s division of labour was based on a clearly defined hierarchy. The gang was led by a security manager–a 66-year-old local man surnamed Pang–who was tasked with directing the syndicate, managing operations, and distributing the illicit profits. The other eight security staff members, aged between 26 and 58, included another security manager and a security supervisor.
According to the press conference, the syndicate operated using two major modi operandi: extorting protection fees from offenders, and harbouring offenders by “fixing” cases.
Regarding the first modus operandi, the syndicate identified targets through intermediaries, who secretly photographed individuals engaging in gaming-related offences and forwarded the images to the security staff. The security guards would then intensify spot-checks on these targets based on the photographs and escort them to the security office for identity verification.
Afterwards, the intermediaries approached these individuals, claiming that if they wished to continue engaging in illegal activities in the casino without being intercepted or handed over to the police, they would need to pay a monthly “protection fee” of HK$10,000.
If an offender refused to pay, the security guards applied further pressure – threatening to hand them over to the police or have them deported –whilst raising the fee to HK$20,000 per month. To avoid police involvement or deportation, many of the gaming-related offenders ultimately acquiesced.
Regarding the second modus operandi, when gaming offenders were taken to the security office following complaints of theft or fraud from gamblers, the security guards involved contacted intermediaries to negotiate a “settlement fee” with the offenders. Sums ranged from HK$5,000 to HK$40,000 per incident, depending on the severity of the case.
Upon receiving payment, the security guards falsely claimed to have negotiated an agreement with the police that the offenders would not be subject to law-enforcement action. They then persuaded the victims not to file criminal complaints, framing the incidents as mere “misunderstandings”.
Finally, the security guards failed to report the matters to the police and released the offenders.
The gang also maintained a strict hierarchy for profit distribution. The kingpin (the security manager surnamed Pang) and two of the security guards each received 15 per cent of the illicit proceeds, while the other security staff members each received eight per cent. The intermediaries received 10 per cent each.
The police estimated that since beginning operations in March last year, the syndicate had amassed at least HK$1.4 million in illicit gains.
The Judiciary Police launched an operation on Tuesday, apprehending the 14 suspects in separate raids at the casino and across several residential flats. Simultaneously, the police traced seven individuals who had previously been extorted due to their illicit activities in the casino; all seven agreed to testify regarding the syndicate’s criminal activities.
During the operation, the police seized 24 smartphones, HK$203,000 in cash, and gaming chips worth HK$132,000.
Senior officers addressing the press conference underlined that gaming concessionaires bear a statutory responsibility to ensure that gaming activities remain free from criminal influence, to cooperate fully with law-enforcement agencies and supervisory entities, and to curb any illicit activities on their premises.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the 14 hooded suspects to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: MPDG
Evidence seized the casino protection racket is displayed at the pressroom of the PJ headquarters yesterday. – Photo: MPDG
