Macau’s crime rate shot upward in the first three months of 2017, in part due to a surge of gamblers trying to pass off counterfeit casino chips as the real deal.

Figures released this weekend by Macau Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak indicated that Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) filed 3,502 criminal reports in the three months ending March 31, 5.1% higher than the same period last year. Gaming-related crimes – defined as taking place in or around casinos – were up 15.2% to 424.

The number of people actually arrested and forwarded for prosecution was up 12.8% to 1,822. Of these, 445 were charged with gambling-related crimes, 5% higher than in Q1 2016. Wong credited the increased gaming crime numbers to better enforcement measures within casinos.

Crimes involving unlawful detention, which typically involve loan sharks detaining gamblers until family or friends on the mainland can make good on their gambling debts, were up 18% to 105. On the other hand, crimes of usury – the lending of money at exorbitant rates – was down 16%.