Two locals, including a male medical laboratory technologist who works in a private hospital, and nine mainlanders were arrested for their alleged involvement in a casino loansharking gang, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said at a special press conference on Monday.
According to the spokesperson, the 42-year-old laboratory technologist, surnamed Chio, is suspected to be one of the kingpins of the gang.
The spokesperson said two of the 11 suspects are women, and the 11 suspects are aged between 20 and 40.
According to the spokesperson, the police arrested four mainland men for their involvement in a loansharking case in November last year. The police discovered later that the suspects were members of a major casino loansharking gang.
The gang operated in various local casinos where they looked for potential clients – often tourists. If the gamblers couldn’t repay their loans, the suspects withheld their identification documents and confined them in a hotel room to ensure that they paid their gambling debts.
After identifying the suspects, the police arrested the 11 in different locations on Saturday, according to the spokesperson.
All 11 suspects will be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP), facing arraignments on organised crime membership and usury charges, the spokesperson said.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
