Police in Macao have arrested a Mainland Chinese man accused of selling fake casino chips at an integrated resort in the Cotai district.
Officers said that the man, surnamed Yang, is in his 30s, the Macao-based, Japanese-language newspaper Macau Shimbun reported.
Police said they arrested Yang in the early hours of June 20, after the suspect allegedly approached a man and a woman “who were engaged in illegal currency exchange.”
Yang reportedly offered the duo more than $7,600 in casino chips in exchange for Chinese yuan, claiming he would give them a discount.
Macao Casino Chips Were Fake, Police Confirm
Initially, the couple agreed to the deal, police said. They transferred the money electronically to accounts in Mainland China at Yang’s instruction.
However, when Yang allegedly handed over the chips, the duo “noticed something suspicious about them,” police said.
The couple refused to accept the chips, complaining that they were counterfeit, police said.
This reportedly led to a heated argument. A security guard at the casino facility intervened and eventually called the police.
Officers arrived shortly after, arresting Yang at the scene.
Police followed up with an investigation that revealed Yang had arrived in Macao the day before.
Detectives said Yang was wearing a Bluetooth earpiece when they arrested him. Undisclosed “accomplices,” police said, gave Yang audio instructions on who to approach with his offers.
A spokesperson said the hunt for these “accomplices” continues.
Yang had a further 15 counterfeit gaming chips with a face value of $1,275 in his possession at the time of the arrest, police said.
The spokesperson said the size and weight of the fake chips were not dissimilar to the integrated resort’s chips.
However, the counterfeit gaming chips did not feature the casino’s unique anti-counterfeiting hologram. They also used different fonts and colors.
Yang faces charges of large-scale fraud. Prosecutors also said that they plan to prosecute the couple separately for illegal currency exchange violations.
Macao Police Crack Down on Illegal Currency Exchanges
Police in the special administrative region have stepped up efforts to stamp out illegal currency exchanges in recent months.
Officers say that illegal money exchange operators and loan sharks now regularly prey on tourists in Macao. They say related fraud, robbery, and kidnapping cases are also on the rise.
Lawmakers responded by rolling out the Act on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes late last year.
The act gave courts the power to issue harsher penalties for illegal money exchangers and loan sharks.
As part of their crackdown, police arrested a man accused of trading Chinese yuan for Hong Kong dollars on a street corner in the New Port Area earlier this year.
The suspect was found in possession of almost $2,500 in cash.
Tourist numbers are on the rise in Macao, but operators have reported a drop in casino sales.
Transport police said an average of 116,000 visitors are now arriving in Macao every day. That marks a rise of over 10% on the same period last year.
The vast majority (around 75%) of tourists come from Mainland China, officials said, with 20% of overseas tourists coming from South Korea.
The post Chinese Man Arrested in Macao For Selling Fake Casino Chips appeared first on CasinoBeats.
Police in Macao have arrested a Mainland Chinese man accused of selling fake casino chips at an integrated resort in the Cotai district. Officers said that the man, surnamed Yang, is in his 30s, the Macao-based, Japanese-language newspaper Macau Shimbun reported. Police said they arrested Yang in the early hours of June 20, after the
The post Chinese Man Arrested in Macao For Selling Fake Casino Chips appeared first on CasinoBeats.