Police raid 5 homes and businesses suspected of gambling, arrest 21 people

Police arrested 21 people on gambling charges after 5 raids in Bangkok over the weekend. While deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, Jiraphop Phuridet, says the raids on January 8 and 9 are part of a nationwide crackdown initiated by the national police chief after a Covid-19 outbreak at a Rayong gambling den, the raids busted what seems like small scale operations… if they’re even considered “operations.”

Small groups of people were busted at homes allegedly playing card games or gambling on a mobile application.

“This operation is a part of the National Police chief’s policy to eliminate gambling dens nationwide to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading among the public.”

The 5 homes and businesses raided over the weekend include…

• A car maintenance shop on Soi Sirithorn 1 in Bang Plad district. Police say they arrested 4 people who were allegedly playing a card game. Officers confiscated a deck of cards and cash.
• A building on Nakhon Chaisri Road in Dusit district where police found playing cards, dice and plastic chips. No one was in the building at the time of the raid, police say.
• A house near Tesco Lotus Rama I in Pathumwan district. 4 people were arrested for allegedly gambling on a mobile application. Police also confiscated the mobile phones and cash.
• A room in Khlong Kwang community in Yannawa district. 4 people were arrested for allegedly playing a card game. Police confiscated a deck of cards and some cash.
• A house in Soi Rimthangrotfai 3 in Thon Buri district. 9 people were arrested for gambling on mobile applications. Police confiscated the mobile phones and cash.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand