FRANCE ARRESTS GANG OVER ‘CASINO SCAM’

Tert.am
13:29 ~U 15.10.11

French police say they have arrested three Italians and a Frenchman
over a sophisticated casino scam in Cannes, the BBC News reported.

The Frenchman is accused of marking a deck of cards with invisible
ink and ensuring the three Italians played from that deck, reports say.

The Italians, meanwhile, wore special lenses to enable them to see
the markings, according to police.

The gang are accused of swindling one casino out of up to 64,000 euros
($88,000).

But detectives believe they may have used the technique elsewhere in
Europe before coming to their attention in France.

Suspicions were raised at the Princes Casino in the resort city when
the Italians won 44,000 euros playing a form of stud poker against the
croupier, then returned earlier this week to win another 20,000 euros.

On investigation, the cards were found to have been marked with
invisible symbols, including a line for an ace and a cross for a king.

“At first we thought they were using cameras, but we didn’t find
anything,” a police spokesman reportedly said.

“Finally, we realized that their strategy involved using contact
lenses.”

Other reports suggested the players were using infra-red glasses,
not contact lenses.

The suspects are expected to face charges of fraud and theft, and
could face up to 10 years in jail. But a lawyer for one of the unnamed
Italian players was quoted as saying his client denied wrongdoing.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress