Bust nets 19 gamblers, B380,000

PHUKET TOWN: Police early this morning arrested 19 gamblers and seized almost 380,000 baht in a raid on an impromptu gambling den set up in an empty office behind the Thavorn Hotel on Rassada Rd. A squad of 12 police officers, led by Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, raided the room after receiving an anonymous tip-off. Pol Capt Sarit Butnongsaen, of Phuket Town Police Station, explained that in the room gamblers were trying their luck at a Thai Wheel of Fortune, upcountry-style, called “Kung Pla Maeng-da Dork Mai” (shrimp, fish, horseshoe crab, flower). Players spin an arrow fixed to a board with pictures of a shrimp, fish, horseshoe crab and a flower, and bet on which picture the arrow will point to when it stops. Besides the gambling paraphernalia, officers seized 379,370 baht and arrested 14 men and five women. “Some of the gamblers have been arrested many times,” Capt Sarit said. “About five of the gamblers escaped arrest,” he added. All 19 are being held at Phuket Town Police Station, where they await their court appearance on Monday. Capt Sarit said that Col Paween will urge the court to deny bail.