Online Reporter
A married couple from Kazakhstan won more than US$1m from Sydney’s Crown casino using a tiny camera hidden in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt and “deep-seated earpieces” that allowed them to communicate.
New South Wales Police said that Dilnoza Israilova, 36, was caught after security staff at the Barangaroo casino noticed a tiny camera attached to her Mickey Mouse T-shirt.
The device, described as “discreet and difficult to spot”, allegedly relayed live footage from card tables.
Ms Israilova and her husband, Alisherykhoja Israilov, 44, were arrested shortly after.
“On Thursday a 36-year-old woman was observed by casino staff wearing a small, discreet camera attached to her shirt,” a police spokesperson said.
“Officers were notified and attended the casino, where they arrested the woman and her 44-year-old husband.”
Over the next several weeks, they returned to the venue multiple times, eventually racking up winnings over about US$1 million.
“With their mobile phones capturing images of the table, the pair communicated using deep-seated earpieces through which they received instructions to wager on different card games and ultimately cheat the casino,” the police alleged.
Casino staff raised concerns when their unusually high payouts continued, ultimately leading to Thursday’s intervention where Ms Israilova was allegedly caught in the act.
The police said on Sunday the couple were charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, after being arrested in the Barangaroo casino.
Investigators allege the couple were carrying “small, magnetised probes, batteries, and a mobile phone with a fitted attachment that allowed the camera function of the phone to discreetly view, capture or record images”.
Officers also seized a small custom-made mirror attachment for the mobile phone, police alleged.
The couple had travelled to Sydney from Kazakhstan in October.
They applied for Crown memberships on the day they arrived, police alleged.
Officers searched the couple’s accommodation on Kent Street in Sydney, where they allegedly located other gambling props, high-end jewellery and €2,000.
The couple appeared in local bail court on Friday. Neither applied for bail and it was formally refused. Dilnoza Israilova is due back in court in February.
Her husband is scheduled to appear in the Downing Centre local court on 11 December.
The organised crime squad commander, Det Supt Peter Faux, said police and the casino worked together to detect and prevent criminal activity.
“Our detectives collaborate closely with casino security to identify and disrupt unlawful behaviour,” Faux said.
“This strong cooperation is vital to maintaining the integrity of gaming operations and is reflected in outcomes like this.” —The Independent/Mailonline
Mathew Masinge