A GANG of eight men believed to have been involved in the $25 million Hyatt Regency casino robbery in Macau earlier this year have been arrested in neighbouring Zhuhai.
Three of the men are believed to be Macau residents. One of them is a wanted criminal and is believed to be the mastermind behind the raid on the Diamond Room in the hotel on Taipa island in May. The other five are from Guangxi.
Sources said Public Security Bureau officers discovered the identity of the gang members after they arrested a man involved in a recent kidnapping of a Macau businessman.
The gang burst into the hotel's casino at 3.30 am on May 12 and fired eight shots from Chinese pistols and an AK-47 sub-machine gun into the walls and ceiling of the posh casino.
Five bandits, who wore gloves and black silk masks, stole gambling chips, expensive gold and diamond-studded watches, bracelets and rings from the gamblers.
Diners in the adjoining 24-hour Esplanade Cafe were herded at gunpoint into a bar and robbed.