One of Macau’s high-roller dealer’s rooms was arrested last week for allegedly stealing about $6.1 million USD in casino chips (HKD48 million) in Novos Aterros do Porto Exterior (NAPE) area.
City’s Judiciary Police said that the arrested a 49-year-old dealer in the VIP room at Wynn Macau responds for to the surname Lei, but he wasn’t by his own. Authorities also took Lei’s uncle into custody a 70-year-old security guard surnamed Ho.
At 7 a.m. on January 16, the VIP room where Lei was working was empty save for another female dealer. Lei ordered his colleague to be silent and lean over her table, after which he removed all the chips from his own table and left the premises. Some local media reports suggested that Lei threatened his colleague with a knife in order to ensure her compliance.
The police found $5,118USD and MOP4,000 in cash in Lei’s possession, and seized $2815USD in cash and $2572USD worth of casino chips from Ho. Lei admitted guilt but refused to reveal the whereabouts of the chips.
He claimed that he had committed the crime to settle a personal debt, and that he has had a gambling habit since his teens.
But Ho denied involvement in the robbery. Authorities were only able to recover a fraction of the chips when apprehending the two suspects, and still figuring out if others were involved.
