Macao casinos and integrated resorts are receiving crime prevention training from the special administrative region’s police force.
The latest workshop was held at the MGM Cotai in late June, the Japanese-language Macao-based newspaper Macau Shinbum reported.
The Judiciary Police says its primary focus in the workshops is to work with the six companies that hold casino concessions with the Macao government.
A total of 14 police experts hosted training sessions on subjects ranging from criminal technology and organized crime to fraud and fraud prevention.
MGM said 48 of its employees took part in the workshops. These included staff who work in the security, casino operations, casino cashier, surveillance, and gaming machine operations departments.
Macao Casinos: Police Hunt Illegal Currency Traders
One lecture focused on currency-exchange-related crimes. Black market currency exchange-related crime rates have ballooned in recent months, both inside and outside Macao casinos. Bogus chip vendors are also preying on gamblers in casinos and resorts.
In the past weeks, police have made multiple arrests in several related cases, with most suspects originating from Mainland China.
The workshops also feature talks from police experts who specialize in fraud cases.
Bogus gambling experts have also begun targeting betting-curious Mainland China residents, promising to teach them how to make money at Macao casinos.
The sessions also look at ways casino staff can help prevent telephone, romance, and investment fraud.
And the police also gave instructions on how to combat drug crime and human trafficking at casinos.
Officers explained how detectives use forensic techniques at crime scenes, and how casino staff should cooperate with police during criminal investigations.
A police spokesperson said the talks were “well-received by participants, with many positive comments.”
The spokesperson said the Judiciary Police will continue to work closely with the casino and IR industries.
The parties vowed to help one another stay informed about security-related matters. They said they would help “deter and eradicate” all types of crime.
The police force said it would provide more crime prevention training sessions for workers in the gaming industry.
The spokesperson said efforts were underway to build a joint police-civilian crime prevention platform.
This platform, they said, will help the private sector and the police “work together to maintain and protect public order.”
Police Arrest Suspected Counterfeiters at Casino
The same media outlet reported that police have also announced the arrest of two Mainland Chinese men accused of selling counterfeit banknotes.
The duo sold the fake Hong Kong dollar banknotes in an unnamed casino in Cotai, police said.
Officers explained that the men posed as gamblers who had won big at casino games. They pretended they wanted to make quick, cut-price cash deals, selling the fake bills for Chinese yuan.
Police confiscated 300 banknotes at the scene. They said one victim agreed to pay over $38,000 for the notes, but alerted the police mid-deal when he realized that they all had identical serial numbers.
Another middle-aged female victim also agreed to pay the alleged counterfeiters over $21,800 in yuan for the notes.
Officers said the duo smuggled the fake banknotes across the border from Mainland China.
