A husband-and-wife team accused of earning about HK$10 million from the operation of illegal gambling dens and laundering the proceeds were arrested by police on Wednesday following an eight-month investigation.
The 44-year-old husband, a suspected Sun Yee On triad member, and his wife, 39, were arrested when police officers raided their flat in Po Ming Court, off Po Shun Road, Tseung Kwan O, at about 6.30am.
Four others – two men and two women – were also arrested by police after being found playing mahjong in the flat.
Chief Inspector Lam Cheuk-ho of Kowloon East regional crime unit said its investigations showed the couple’s home was also being used as illegal mahjong parlour.
Three electronic mahjong tables and HK$3,000 table money were seized inside the flat. “All the windows and the door were closed and sealed with tape and sponge rubber to absorb noise,” Lam said.
After receiving a tip-off last December, police began investigating the couple and examining their financial backgrounds.
The pair are also accused of running illegal mahjong parlours in restaurants and residential units in Tseung Kwan O since 2007. And though police had closed down some of these gambling dens, they had until today failed to catch the couple.