Casino loan shark faces P charges

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A high-roller gambler exposed as a loan shark in the country's biggest casino is facing drugs charges.

The high-interest loans to desperate gamblers - with passports or cars as collateral - were uncovered by a TVNZ sting, which led to SkyCity banning the VIP gambler.

His identity can now be revealed as Guo Pei Chen, 39, also known as Ah Pui. He appeared in the Auckland District Court this week to face charges of possession of methamphetamine for supply.

Police allegedly found 11 grams of the class-A drug in an apartment in the Duxton Hotel where he lives in downtown Auckland.

An undercover TV investigation in 2007 exposed Chen as a loan shark who spent much of his time gambling inside the VIP lounge at SkyCity casino.

He was secretly recorded agreeing to lend $2000 to a young Chinese student pretending to need cash to gamble - with a weekly interest rate of $70 for every $1000 borrowed.

Chen was taped asking for the Chinese woman's passport as security for the loan, or to sign over ownership of her car.

Chen was then banned from the casino, which has to report any suspicions of loan sharking to the Department of Internal Affairs.