The Judiciary Police (PJ) separately arrested four men from the Chinese mainland and a local woman on Monday for engaging in illegal currency exchange activities, PJ spokesman Cheong Kim Fong said during a special press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspects as a 40-year-old male surnamed He, a 35-year-old male surnamed Cai, a 29-year-old male surnamed Li and a 27-year-old male surnamed Xiong, all of whom claimed to be jobless; and a 56-year-old local saleswoman surnamed Wong.
According to Cheong, PJ officers patrolling a casino in Taipa on Monday witnessed He exchanging HK$20,000 in chips for 18,120 yuan with a gambler. He was also found to have exchanged HK$20,000 in chips for 18,040 yuan earlier that day with another gambler. Cheong said that He had been involved in illegal currency exchange activities since early November, earning HK$80 for every HK$10,000 exchanged, accumulating a total profit of HK$8,000. The police seized HK$139,000 in chips and a smartphone from him.
Cheong noted that PJ officers on patrol on Monday at another casino in Cotai saw Xiong exchanging HK$50,000 in chips for 45,000 yuan with a male gambler. The police discovered that Xiong had been engaging in illegal currency exchange activities since June, earning HK$100 for every HK$10,000 exchanged, amounting to a total profit of HK$50,000. The police confiscated HK$50,000 in chips and a smartphone from Xiong, along with HK$5,000 in chips from the gambler.
Cheong said that PJ officers patrolling a casino in Cotai on Monday discovered Cai providing his QR code in a smoking lounge to a gambler to transfer 45,150 yuan in exchange for HK$50,000 in chips. After receiving the money, Li appeared and handed over the chips to the gambler. Cheong added that the duo had engaged in illegal currency exchange activities since November, earning HK$50 for every HK$10,000 exchanged, resulting in a total profit of HK$7,000. The police seized a total of HK$108,000 in chips, two smartphones from the duo, and HK$1,000 in chips from the gambler.
According to Cheong, based on intelligence, the police identified a jewellery store in Cotai as a suspected illegal currency exchange operation where Wong was employed to carry out the illegal activities. On Monday, PJ officers discovered a female gambler handing her smartphone to Wong, who then took cash from a drawer and gave it to the gambler, exchanging HK$40,000 for 37,000 yuan. Afterwards, another female gambler transferred 1,000 yuan for HK$1,000 via her smartphone. The police seized HK$158,970 in cash, along with three account books and two smartphones from the store, as well as HK$29,900 in chips from the two gamblers. The police discovered that the store had been operating since August, and Wong had been employed since October, earning a monthly salary of 13,000 patacas for her illegal currency exchange activities.
The five suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, each facing an illegal currency exchange charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the five hooded illegal currency exchange suspects – two of them together, the others one at a time – to PJ vans outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photos: Ada Lei
