Six people charged with computer-based fraudulent card playing in a South African land casino have appeared in court, reports IOL.co.za. Three of the six are alleged to be dealer employees of the casino.
In bail hearings, investigators claimed that three Chinese nationals playing at the Carnival City casino had installed a hidden miniature camera in a cigarette box to take pictures of cards being dealt during games of Punto Banco. The pictures were then transmitted to computers in a nearby hotel room, where one of the syndicate members would send his accomplices the computer analysis of the card information via sms.
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The card dealers implicated in the scam allegedly dealt the cards slowly enough for the camera to capture accurate images of the cards on three nights in a row last (July) month.
Carnival City security officials became suspicious when they noticed that the players seemed overly nervous, prompting a closer investigation.
It is understood that up to Rands 3-million ( approx. GBP 225 600) could have been stolen in the scam.
Five men were arrested on August 1 and another employee was arrested later after it was found that dealers were involved in the card scheme.
"The fraud, which made use of sophisticated electronic equipment at the property's casino tables, was uncovered through Sun International's top-class surveillance equipment and procedures," said Carnival City spokesperson Tamra Veley.
The case was remanded to September 22 for further investigation.
