Four arrested in alleged cheating scheme at Vancouver casino
B.C.'s anti-gang unit says the group took more than $200,000 from casinos, and officers seized about $330,000 in cash believed to be crime proceeds.
Four people have been arrested in what British Columbia's anti-gang police unit describes as a cheating scheme that cost B.C. casinos more than $200,000. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC) announced the arrests on May 28. The suspects, two men and two women, have not been named.
Police said the case began on May 4, when the province's Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) alerted investigators to suspected cheating at a Vancouver casino. The casino has not been identified.
The four were arrested in Vancouver the next day, May 5. A search of their belongings turned up about $330,000 in cash, which police believe to be proceeds of crime.
Charges under review
All four were released pending charge approval. Police said possible charges include cheating at play, possession of proceeds obtained by crime, and uttering forged documents or impersonation. Few details have been released about how the alleged scheme worked, and CFSEU-BC said it would not say more while the investigation remains active.
Staff Sgt. Alvin Ng of CFSEU-BC credited the unit's working relationship with the gambling regulator as key to the case. The B.C. Lottery Corporation also co-operated with investigators, police said.
IGCO general manager Sam MacLeod said the office would keep working with police. "We will continue to support police in addressing organized criminal activity targeting B.C.'s gambling sector," he said.
Busy spring for enforcement
The arrests came three weeks after police in the province announced 11 arrests in a separate investigation into a suspected illegal gaming house in Maple Ridge. Six of those arrested were issued provincial casino bans.
Cheating at play is an offence under the Criminal Code. None of the allegations in the Vancouver case has been proven in court, and police have not said when a decision on charges is expected.