Macau Police Arrest Scammers Who Scammed Scammers

The Macau Judiciary Police have arrested a group of people who extorted casino scammers for money. The group is said to have procured at least HKD 800K ($102,779).

The Extortion Gang Threatened Scammers

As reported by Macau Daily, the police have arrested a gang of over a dozen people who extorted casino scammers for money. The extortion saw them coerce some 10 scammers into handing them payments ranging from HKD 2.5K to HKD 4K.

The authorities first caught wind of the extortion scheme in June. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) understood that the victims of the extortion were scammers who would act as fake gaming agents pretending to place bets on behalf of customers. The scammers fooled victims into thinking they were really placing the bets, when in reality, they were only pretending and were actually keeping the money.

The extortion gang identified the scammers and, instead of reporting them to authorities, threatened to do so unless the scammers paid them hush money. Fearing prosecution, the casino scammers complied with the extortion gang, agreeing to pay the requested sums.

According to Macau Daily, the extortion gang was dismantled on Wednesday, leading to the arrests of 13 individuals. Authorities said that these included seven men and six women aged 52 to 82. Officials also clarified that 10 victims of extortion have been identified so far.

Macau to Assess Licensees’ Contributions Amid Satellite Closures

In other Macau-related news, the special administrative region’s secretary for economy and finance, Tai Kin Ip, recently provided an update on the ongoing satellite casino closures. The secretary noted that the transition for affected staff is moving steadily, saying that it has affected 3,200 casino staff members, 1,600 of whom were being reassigned.

Previously, Macau’s chief executive, Sam Hou Fai, announced that the government was about to gauge the progress made by the city’s six casino concessionaires on the gaming and non-gaming investments they committed to.