uesdayhe Judiciary Police (PJ) announced on Tuesday the arrests of 15 alleged members of a loan-sharking gang from the mainland which continued to recruit new members after two rounds of arrests earlier this year, a PJ spokesperson said during a special press conference.
According to the spokesperson, the 15 suspects, 12 men and 3 women aged between 25 and 41, are from the mainland.
The spokesperson said the police arrested a total of 21 gang members in the two previous operations in March and June, but later discovered that the gang had recruited new members and resumed operations in June.
On Monday morning, the police arrested two of the 15 suspects in a flat in Rua de Nam Keng in Taipa where 15 IOUs involving 7 million yuan were seized. The rest of the suspects were arrested that same morning in a nearby flat in Rua de Seng Tou.
According to the spokesperson, the police assume that one of the suspects, a 27-year-old man surnamed Zhang, was in charge of the new recruits and arranged their “work schedules”.
The spokesperson said the gang had been active in casinos in Taipa and Cotai.
The police are searching for the kingpin and other members of the gang in cooperation with their mainland counterparts, according to the spokesperson.
The 15 suspects will be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, facing possible arraignments on organised crime membership and other charges, the spokesperson said.
