Police arrested 29 people yesterday and closed an alleged triad-controlled gambling den fitted with closed-circuit television and sound-proofing that is thought to have returned its operators at least $3 million a month. About 20 officers burst into the 20th-floor North Point flat just before midnight. After a short struggle they arrested 14 men and 15 women, aged 31 to 58, and seized $29,800 from the gaming tables. Police said the den, in the 25-storey Metropole Building in King's Road, was protected by at least two lookouts in the street below and had three needle-sized lenses outside the unit connected to monitors to keep watch on people approaching. In planning their raid, police had to work out the lenses' blind spots. Officers rushed in when the operator opened the door to clients, who had to give a password to gain entry. Police said the den catered to gamblers from the area's large Fujianese community and nine of those arrested were mainland visitors from Fujian province. 'While under our surveillance, the gambling den started its business around 6pm and closed at dawn every morning. We believe an average of 30 to 40 clients visited the den each night and they included mainland visitors,' Inspector Suryanto Chin Chiu, of Eastern District special duty squad, said. Preliminary investigations showed the gamblers, playing the Chinese domino game pai kau, placed bets of $500,000 to $600,000 a night, the inspector said. 'We believe its operators could pocket over $100,000 a day.' The lenses outside the unit were found concealed in three sockets in the ceiling, monitoring the corridor and back staircases. A guard kept watch on two monitors inside. 'Mattresses were laid on the floor in the living room where the gambling table was placed. They were used to absorb the sound of footsteps,' the inspector said. Officers said the operators also shut the doors of three bedrooms that were attached to an adjacent unit and all the windows were covered with brown paper and closed. Inspector Suryanto believed the den had been operating for about a month and was controlled by a triad gang. Those arrested were being held for questioning in North Point police station last night.
