A serious crime has occurred last Friday at Macao casino. Four robbers have used pepper-spray on the property’s staff in order to steal a substantial amount of money. The gaming chips worth HK$3.1 million were stolen from a baccarat table and four suspects were arrested the same day. One female and three male robbers are suspected to be related to this robbery according to the South China Morning Post. They’ve also reported that four arrested suspects are between 20 and 40 years old and they’re all from the Chinese mainland.
Details of the Robbery
The place of the robbery was Four Seasons Macao, which is connected to the luxurious Venetian Macao. Four robbers entered the Plaza Casino at half past six in the morning. Sands China, a subsidiary of American Las Vegas Sands, is the operator of this facility.
The main strategy of two robbers was pepper-spraying a security guard and a croupier. The other two robbers had entered the casino before this crime had occurred, in order to explore the situation and wait for an opportune moment. One of the robbers was even dressed as a woman.
After two robbers had attacked the employees of Macao casino, their accomplices, who were already inside, stole chips from a baccarat table. It was all over within 3 minutes, after which they all left the casino running. The estimated worth of gaming chips they robbed was HK$3.1 million or around $382,000. Two employees of Macao casino were injured and they were immediately provided with medical care.
Getting Caught
According to the police, two robbers went their separate ways after leaving the casino, but they eventually met at a fast food restaurant. After handing the gaming chips to their female accomplice, they were heading to Zhuhai. Not long after, the police from Zhuhai arrested the suspects.
Meanwhile, the women who had the chips went to a different casino, where she was supposed to trade exchange the chips for money and complete the plan. She had met the fourth accomplice there, and he was the first suspect to get arrested. The gaming chips were found in Macau’s Taipa district. They were hidden inside a hotel room of the female suspect and after she got arrested, the chips and cash were recovered.
The Crime Scene
Seems like Macao casino was a popular crime scene in the past few weeks. This is not the first crime that occurred this month. Several days before the robbery, one man was killed during a fight. Three other men involved in this fight were stabbed, but there is no proof that this crime had anything to do with gambling at Macao casino.
Another huge robbery occurred one year ago when a croupier stole gaming chips, worth around HK$48 million. The man, who was in debt, run away from the crime scene, and it took a few days for the police to catch him.
Macau Judiciary Police, Venetian Macao’s security department and Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau had an important meeting after this robbery occurred. They have discussed ways of dealing with similar incidents in a fast and efficient way.
