The Macau Judiciary Police have arrested five Chinese nationals suspected to be related to a cross-border criminal syndicate. The criminal organization, according to the authorities, uses counterfeit chips in casinos in Macau.

The arrests followed a recent report from a casino in the Cotai area where a customer exchanged fake chips for money. After the staff realized that they had been scammed they referred the matter to the police.

Local authorities immediately launched an investigation into the matter and quickly arrested five men from mainland China at the casino. Aged between 21 and 28, the five arrestees were suspected of being a part of a criminal organization that imports fake chips into Macau. The police are currently on the lookout for three other suspects who might be related to the case.

In addition to arresting the five men, the police were able to seize a whopping 585 fake chips worth approximately $750,000. More than 130 of those were discovered in toilets and taxi compartments near the border and might have been abandoned by other participants in the criminal scheme.

Upon careful inspection, the police concluded that the fake chips were extremely realistic and difficult to differentiate from real ones at first glance.

The Macau authorities believe that they are dealing with a fairly new criminal organization. According to the police, the group is believed to have started its illegal scheme in March.

The investigation is still ongoing.

Macau Seeks to Crack Down on Gambling Crime

Speaking of gambling crime in Macau, the country recently proposed a law that would exempt minor gambling offenders from prosecution, or at least reduce their penalties, if they provide evidence against others.

In addition to exempting whistleblowers from penalties, the new law would allow the police to search the property of potential witnesses or suspects during the night.

Additionally, Macau lawmakers proposed an amendment to the region’s Criminal Procedure Code that would allow it to implement an extension of detention measure. This matter was raised after Alvin Chau, the chairman of the controversial Suncity junket, argued that the detention period of certain individuals in the Suncity case had already expired.

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Police officers in Corpus Christi, Texas, have raided an illegal gambling venue, seizing a variety of items and making multiple arrests.

According to a report by KRIS, a local TV station, the property, which was officially a video arcade, doubled as an illegal casino. A raid was greenlit and carried out by officers on Thursday, leading to a crackdown on the operation.

The raid, KRIS pointed out, followed a month-long investigation.

In total, the police seized multiple gambling devices, over $85,000 in cash, a vehicle and some marijuana. In addition, the police arrested three people believed to have run the operation.

These include Brandon Roe, 23, Mallory Villarreal, 30, and Jillian Dunnahoo, 22, who were accused of promoting gambling, keeping a gambling place, possessing gambling devices, engaging in organized crime and laundering money.

KRIS pointed out that both money laundering and engagement in organized crime are state felonies and are punishable by up to two years in jail. The three people also risk a maximum fine of $10,000 each. The remaining charges, KRIS added, are Class A misdemeanors.

The TV station also pointed out that five adults in the game room were cited for gambling, which is a Class C misdemeanor in the state.

The Corpus Christi Police Department asked citizens to be vigilant, reminding them that game rooms that offer games with cash rewards are illegal. The CCPD added that patrons of such establishments also risk criminal charges.

Not the First Illegal Gambling Venue

This game room was not the first instance of an illegal gambling operation in the state. Back in March 2023, Nathan Nichols, a 46-year-old Corpus Christi resident, admitted to running an illegal gambling business. Nichols was also previously involved in the theft of US Army property in a separate case.

For reference, Nichols owned and operated Lady Luck and Theo’s Bar. Both of these businesses offered illegal gambling entertainment to their patrons, earlier reports say. The operations ran from March 2018 to August 2019.

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The Thai Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has confiscated two luxurious villas from operators of UFA, an illegal online gambling network for high rollers. As reported by The Thaiger, a Thai news outlet, the two properties are worth over 2 billion baht in total (roughly $56.5 million).

For reference, the villas are located in Phuket’s coastal area, overlooking Nai Harn Bay. Their combined area is around 3.75 acres. Both properties were called Thousand Hills Phuket.

The confiscation of the two properties was led by Director General Police Major Suriya Singhakamol. When the DSI officers arrived, the only people at the villas were housekeepers and ground staff. Suriya’s people notified the staff of the seizure and proceeded to place notices around the two properties.

According to the DSI, the two villas are owned by a syndicate that has connections to UFA, the aforementioned illegal gambling network. While all forms of online gambling are strictly prohibited in the country, illegal operators have been filling the niche.

Suriya learned that the properties are learned to a man who was identified as Phakphum, also known as Didi. He was arrested earlier this month and is believed to have been a revenue manager for the UFA network.

At first, Phakphum denied having been involved in the operation of UFA. However, he eventually admitted to his ties to the gambling operation and, as a result, was charged with violations of Thailand’s AML Act.

In addition to serving as the revenue manager of UFA, Phakphum was also related to the operation of factories that operated “mule accounts.” Phakpfum’s facilities were predominantly operated by migrants who used over 80 mule accounts for gambling websites.

According to The Thaiger’s report, 30 of these accounts were registered under the names of Thai players. Each of these accounts handled billions of baht in turnover and processed 3% of the income from the 83 gambling sites Phakphum managed.

The Crackdown Continues

The UFA network is believed to encompass dozens of websites. Its founder, Phuchit, is yet to be arrested as of the time of this writing. Suriya and the DSI are actively pursuing the mastermind, his sister, Phonpansa, as well as 13 other people with ties to UFA and its operations.

Suriya asked people connected to the illegal gambling operation to surrender themselves, lest they risk additional money laundering charges. The major believes that the seizure of the two villas is an important first step in the crackdown on UFA.

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