Gambling den busted, 38 held
Published on: Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Penampang: Thirty-eight people have been rounded up for questioning following a raid on a shophouse premises which had been turned into a "mini casino" at Jalan Bundusan, here, Monday.Those rounded up comprised 29 men and nine women, aged between 20 and 67. The premises started operations at about 4pm on Sunday and was raided eight hours later by police.
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State Criminal Investigation Department Chief Datuk Salehhudin Abdul Rahman, in a press conference here on Monday, said initial findings showed out 33 people, a total of 15 were caretakers while 18, including five Indonesian women with passports, were patrons. The remaining five, found in a separate room also in the same premises, were playing Mahjong during the 12.50am raid. "Surveillance was done much earlier when renovations on three units of the shophouse started more than a month ago. The units were renovated into one premises," he said. The raid saw the seizure of RM128,338, a total of 17,194 pieces of gambling chips of various colours, two roulette tables and roulette equipment, four baccarat tables and baccarat equipment, 1,093 playing cards, 15 handphones, 22 chairs and several computers.
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Police also seized a table, five chairs, 48 chips worth RM3,000, 84 units of Mahjong and two dices. He said based on the gambling equipment, the den seemed like it was not only confined to the Chinese New Year celebration.
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"Investigations are being done from every angle, including if syndicates are involved," he said. Meanwhile, in another development, Salehhudin said two men were arrested after imitation firearms were found in their possession in Tuaran on Sunday. He said a Tuaran police team stopped an Audi vehicle for inspection while patrolling Tuaran town at about 1.30am on Sunday. "The 27-year-old man was picked up for questioning after two imitation pistols and three magazines were found in the car he was driving," he said. Also seized were 13 units of gas, two Allen keys, a hole-puncher and a packet of ball bearings.The man's arrest also led the team to inspect a premises in Kampung Pendamai where they seized another fake pistol and six bullets. Further questioning brought the team to a premises in Tamparuli where they detained a 24-year-old man who had an imitation sniper rifle, a telescope and a silencer. Several cases of imitation firearms seizure have been reported across the State over the past years. In November last year, a 37-year-old contractor was arrested after imitation firearms and plastic pellets were found in his possession at a unit at the Suritz Condominium at Jalan Taman Nelly Nountun, Inanam.A local Chinese man who kept 33 imitation firearms as a hobby was arrested and fined in the Magistrate's Court here in December 2014.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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