Aleks Phillips
A husband and wife from Kazakhstan are alleged to have used a hidden camera and earpieces to fraudulently win nearly A$1.2m (£593,00; $784,000) in an Australian casino.
The couple were caught after staff at the casino in the central Barangaroo neighbourhood of Sydney noticed Dilnoza Israilova, 36, wearing the small, discrete camera on her Mickey Mouse T-shirt, New South Wales Police said.
She and her husband, 44-year-old Alisherykhoja Israilov, were then arrested. Police searched them and allegedly found “magnetised probes” and a mirror attachment for a phone allegedly used to rig games.
The pair have been charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and remain in custody.
New South Wales Police said the couple had arrived in Sydney from Kazakhstan in October and applied for membership to the casino the same day.
Over the following weeks, they made a number of visits to the casino – reportedly the Crown on Sydney’s waterfront – and accumulated winnings totalling A$1,179,412.50.
This raised the suspicions of casino staff, who allegedly caught them in the act on Thursday.
Police said the spying devices were connected to the couple’s mobile phones, allowing them to capture and view images of the table.
They also wore hidden earpieces, through which they allegedly received instructions on when to wager on card games.
A New South Wales Police spokesperson told the BBC that they were not currently looking for any other person in relation to the alleged fraud.
In a subsequent search of their accommodation near the casino, officers found other “gambling props”, high-end jewellery and €2,000 (£1,750; $2,320) in cash.
The pair appeared in court on Friday and were denied bail, New South Wales police said.
Mrs Israilova is due back in court in February, the Guardian Australia reports, while Mr Israilov is scheduled to appear on 11 December.
