The Wei Wei Markham Mansion and Casino
On July 23, the York Regional Police, with tactical officers from the Ontario Police and Durham Police, descended on the 20,000 square foot $9 million mansion property in Markham, located on Decourcy Court near Warden Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive East. The secret mansion casino was busted and restrained by the authorities as they found tons of evidence of illegal criminal activities.
But before we continue with what exactly happened on July 23 and why, we’re going to tell you more about the Wei Wei Markham casino, the million-dollar mansion’s history, and its owners. Stay with us to find what we discovered throughout our extensive research on the Wei Wei Markham casino case.
Inside the Wei Wei Markham Mansion and Casino
From the outside, one would never suggest that the opulent Wei Wei Markham home at 5 Decourcy Court could be more than that. Except maybe for the number of cars parked outside, nothing else revealed that it’s actually a fully operational underground casino. Not only that, but the lavish Wei Wei Markjam casino property housed its own restaurant & bar and even a spa facility.
The police reported that the Wei Wei Markham casino in Ontario has been in operation for more than a year as an invite-only high-end underground casino. The basement offered slot machines as well as baccarat and mahjong tables. The well-stocked cash bar had thousands of bottles of premium alcohol and a fine wine selection estimated to be worth over $1.5 million.
The restaurant was on the upper floor, where rooms were also available for the guests. The mansion’s upper floors provided additional VIP tables, spa facilities with employees, as well as a huge chef’s kitchen. Stay tuned to find out what else the police found in their Wei Wei Markham Casino Ontario investigation.
The Wei Wei Markham Mansion History & Owners
The mansion was bought in 2015 by Wei Wei, 52, and his wife – Xing Yue Chen, 32, for $4.7 million. The police claim that the brains behind the whole operation was Wei Wei, who started renovations for the casino about two years after purchasing the property. His objective was to fill in the void caused by the COVID-19 casino and gaming property closings as measures to stop the outbreak of the virus.
Moreover, the authorities report a significant rise in illegal activities of that sort throughout the entire region ever since the Covid-19 shutdown. Online casinos back then were not an option, considering that online gambling was illegal in the country. Of course, now Canada has many high-quality Canadian online casinos, but this wasn’t the case in 2020.
For the curious readers, here is a short statistic on how Canadians coped with the Covid-19 situation and what they did during the epidemic.
| Spend more time on the Internet | 68% |
| Spend more time watching TV | 63% |
| Spend more time playing games | 22% |
| Increased alcohol consumption | 14% |
Back to the topic, not that the organised crime groups weren’t engaging in such illegal affairs before, but these practices have definitely become more common considering the current conditions. In fact, the Wei Wei Markham casino is far from being the first or the last illegal underground casino seized by the police. During Project Endgame, the authorities descended on a series of illegal gambling venues across the region. However, the Wei Wei Markham casino certainly is their biggest hit.
Project Endgame – the Wei Wei Markham Casino Shut Down
In this paragraph, we’ll give you all the details on what the Police found on July 23, 2020, when they broke into the illegal underground casino inside the Wei Wei Markham mansion, so get prepared.
When nearly 100 officers entered the property that night, they could not believe the shocking mix of the opulence and all the crime they encountered at the Wei Wei Markham casino in Ontario. On July 23, 2020, when the Police busted the Wei Wei Markham casino, they seized the following:
- 💵 1 million in cash
- 🍸 $1.5 million worth of alcohol
- 🎰 Gaming machines and tables
- 🔫 Guns freely accessible at the property
The authorities seized $1 million in cash, $1.5 million worth of alcohol, many gaming machines and tables, two large gun safes in the hallway and lots of guns freely accessible at the property, including a 50-calibre Desert Eagle.
Authorities suspect that human sex trafficking could have also been taking place at the Wei Wei Markham casino, as women might have been exploited as part of the accommodation and spa services that were offered.
As a result, Wei Wei, and Wei Dong, were charged with a number of offences, including keeping a common gaming house and multiple firearms offences. Their daughter, Chen Wei, 25, and Xing Yue Chen, 48, are charged with keeping a common gaming house, possession of proceeds of crime and selling liquor without a license. 15 people were charged with ‘keeping a common gaming or betting house,’ and 9 were charged with being found in an illegal gaming or betting house.
The Resolution – Investigation Delays and Dropped Charges
Now, if you’re wondering how the whole Wei Wei Markham scandal ended, this paragraph is going to answer all your questions on the matter. Months after the Wei Wei Markham massive bust, the charges against Wei Wei – the main figure in the case were dropped. The man and his lawyer have filed a complaint, asking that the Office of the Independent Police Review Director investigate further the Project Endgame practices and intentions.
Wei Wei claims that the police planted evidence and stole expensive watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The authorities report finding a gun holster in the family’s bedroom during the second search on July 24. However, the suspects say the weapon’s been planted so that later on, Wei can be connected to other guns found on the property.
According to the complaint letter, when the Police initially took photos of the main bedroom where Wei Wei was staying, there were two watches that appeared – a Patek Phillippe worth about $300,000 and a Jaeger-LeCoultre, worth around $150,000. But later on, in the exit photos made on the same day, the watches are nowhere to be seen.
The concerns were brought to the Newmarket Crown Attorney’s office, and the case was forwarded to York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween. The reason behind it was that the Crown office simply wasn’t convinced of the York Regional Police’s objectivity in their investigation, especially in such cases where inappropriate conduct might be involved.
Moreover, the Crown has withdrawn all charges against Wei Wei, who has agreed to a common law peace bond for a period of two years. Under the conditions of the peace bond, Wei has to be of good behaviour; he is not allowed to visit any “common gaming house” or go to any premises in Ontario with present gaming equipment. Additionally, he has agreed to forfeit his interest in the Wei Wei Markham mansion and the $960,000 cash and gaming equipment that were seized.
Ultimately, the York Regional Police marked that the case has not collapsed and noted that charges against five other accused remain. It was also concluded that the authorities are happy with the outcome and how this case has developed so far, as it has forfeited millions of dollars.
FAQ
We believe our article gave you all the details on the Wei Wei Markham scandal, as well as what happened on July 23rd and why. Still, we have prepared the following FAQ section for a little more info on the subject in case you’ve missed something along the way. Moreover, those who are particularly interested in the subject of gambling in the country can check out our expert guide reviewing the topic of online gambling in Canada and all that’s related to it.