TWO Phuket football gambling dens whose owners had been already been arrested many times before were raided and shut down last night, Thai News Agency said today (August 23).
At 9 pm Pol. Maj. Purimphat Thanaphatsiri, an inspector at Muang Phuket police station, led a team to raid the two dens on Takua Pa road in the middle of the island and arrested 14 gamblers, the owner and six workers from the first one which had last been busted in December.
Police seized a lot of foreign football match results and cash as evidence and will be filing a charge of gambling on foreign football matches without permission against the 14 betters while the owner and six workers face a charge of arranging football gambling without permission.
This den is a dim sum shop by day and a gambling den at night, Pol. Maj. Purimphat said.
The second den was located just three doors away and was also raided last year when it was called Lucky Try. From here 15 workers and the manager were arrested.
Pol. Maj. Purimphat said the operators of these two dens don’t seem to fear the law because they have been arrested several times and always reopen again. They have been running football gambling in the middle of the island where there are lots of people and tourists for many years now.
He has heard that an influential person is the real owner of these two dens and in mounting the raid last night he first sent in policemen disguised as gamblers and then upon getting a signal the uniformed team moved in.
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Top: Football betting lists seized from one of the two dens. Photo: Thai News Agency
Inset: Some of the football gamblers and operators arrested in Phuket yesterday. Photo: Thai News Agency
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