NO DICE TO GAMBLING DENS
POLICE and KL City Hall hit the jackpot when they raided 25 gambling dens in 3 malls in the Golden Triangle. This follows a failed raid on a mini casino in Jalan Bukit Bintang on Tuesday.
MINI CASINOS: 44 operators, punters arrested, 125 computers seized
STUNG by criticism following a “failed” raid at a mini casino operating right under the noses of authorities on Tuesday, police and City Hall enforcement teams yesterday moved in with a vengeance, striking 25 gambling dens at three malls in the Golden Triangle here.
The lightning raids were carried out by the city police’s Anti-Vice, Gaming and Secret Societies Division (D7) at Plaza Kota Raya, Pudu Plaza and Sungei Wang Plaza.
City Criminal Investigation Department deputy chief Assistant Commissioner Azman Mohd Isa said 44 people, including operators, punters and Myanmar and China nationals, were detained.
He said police seized 125 computers used for gambling and RM5,006.
The raids came following a New Straits Times report on Tuesday, which exposed how a mini-casino in a prominent Jalan Bukit Bintang mall was operating in full view of the authorities.
A raid conducted on the same day by Bukit Aman’s D7 unit at the outlet yielded no arrests, raising questions over possible information leaks within the police force.
Azman yesterday said police had raided the same outlet again on Wednesday after learning that the mini casino in Jalan Bukit Bintang was still operating despite the raid.
“In Wednesday’s raid, police arrested three operators and five punters. We also seized 14 computers, 15 slot machines, 50 gaming chips, a modem and RM610.”
Azman said police checked the Bukit Bintang mini-casino again yesterday, but it was shut.
“We believe that two consecutive raids over two days had left the owner afraid of operating.”
He said police would continue to monitor the mini casino and pledged to work with City Hall, which has the authority to shut down the outlets.
“We guarantee that these outlets will not be operating again,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
As an added measure, City Hall yesterday visited the same Bukit Bintang mini casino.
City Hall Licensing and Petty Traders Management Department director Datuk Ibrahim Yusoff said around 40 enforcement officers broke the locks to gain entry to the six outlets and seized the gambling equipment.
“We seized 18 computers, 2 CCTV decoders, as well as 46 gaming machines, estimated to be worth RM517,250,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, the federal police’s Special Task for Anti-Vice, Gaming and Gangsterism, led by Superintendent Mohd Shokri Abdullah, raided a gambling den next to a hotel.
“Following public tip-offs, we conducted a week’s surveillance before the raid. We nabbed two people, a woman and a Bangladeshi man in their 20s, to aid investigations.
“We will investigate whether the gambling den has any connection to the hotel next to it,” Shokri said.
He said investigation of the premises revealed three entrances, including one to the hotel.
Police seized 43 computers used for online gambling and two game simulator machines.
The premises was believed to have operated for more than three months.