The Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) has been stepping up its fight against money exchange gangs since China’s Ministry of Public Security announced a crackdown on them in May, and on Tuesday repatriated 36 gang members to the mainland.
The PJ revealed it sent 180 officers to several hotels and residences in Macau and Taipa on Tuesday, seizing 36 money exchange gang members – one of whom was a Macau foreign worker. According to the PJ, they found HK$1.8 million in cash and more than HK$600,000 in chips during the operation.
After the 36 people were taken away for further investigation, police reached an agreement with their mainland counterparts and transferred the individuals back to the mainland on the same day.
The PJ said they would continue to step up inspections and crackdowns while maintaining close communication and cooperation with China’s Ministry of Public Security to strengthen intelligence exchange and conduct joint operations in a timely manner.
Macau authorities have traditionally launched operations against money exchange gangs from time to time, but this time the operation was significantly larger than in the past. Likewise, it has in the past been rare for them to reach such agreements with mainland police to hand over members of the money exchange gangs.
In May, mainland public security authorities announced a special program to crack down on Macau’s money exchange gangs. However, last week, a murder case in which a Hong Kong gang member was killed by another gang member at a Macau integrated resort hotel saw concerns reach new heights.
In response, Macau’s Legislative Assembly last week announced plans to criminalize money exchange gangs by classifying them as “Illegal Gaming Offences”, which are punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.
