Three males, two from Saskatoon and one from Regina, have been charged with fraud-related charges after investigation into two incidents over the weekend at Casino Regina, 1880 Saskatchewan Drive.
On Friday, December 21st, at about 9:54 p.m., police were dispatched to the casino for a report of two males trying to cash in casino chips believed to be counterfeits. One of the suspect males, a 30 year-old, was being detained by casino security; the other had left the building and fled south on Hamilton Street. Officers responding checked the area, but did not find the second suspect. Preliminary investigation indicates one of the suspects entered the casino and approached a cashier trying to cash in large-denomination tokens. The cashier suspected the chips were fake and alerted security. The chips were actually $2.00 tokens that had been altered to look like large-denomination chips. It’s believed the second suspect also tried to pass counterfeit chips but when he was approached by security he created a disturbance and fled. Police arrested and charged the 30 year-old male in custody.
On Saturday, December 22nd, at about 10:45 p.m., police were again dispatched to the casino for a similar report of someone attempting to cash in counterfeit chips. Police arrived and, after investigation, arrested a 20 year-old male. Further investigation led to the arrest of a second suspect, a 21 year-old male, at a nearby business who is alleged to have been in possession of counterfeit casino tokens. Both males are facing fraud-related charges. Thirty year-old Mohammed Abdulr ABDALLAH, DOB: 1982-01-01, of Saskatoon, 21 year-old Eric Micheal Robert OKSASIKEWIYIN, DOB: 1991-12-07, of Saskatoon and 20 year-old Drew Andrew PETERS, DOB: 1992-03-25, of Regina are each charged with Fraudulent Use of Tokens [454(b) CC] and Fraud over $5,000. [380(1)(a) C]. ABDALLAH and OKSASIKEWIYIN made their first court appearances in Provincial Court at 9:30 a.m. today, Monday, December 24, 2012. PETERS will make his first court appearance in Provincial Court on January 16, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. Police believe there were two other male suspects involved in these cases, but have not yet identified or located these suspects. Anyone who has information that could assist police in this investigation is asked to contact the Regina Police Service at 777-6500 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
