Hong Kong police arrest 14 people and seize more than HK$600,000 in raid on illegal gambling den
Three men and 11 women, aged between 24 and 69, suspected to have played online baccarat in Mong Kok flat, where police also found baccarat table
Police arrested 14 people and seized more than HK$600,000 (US$76,704) in betting chips and cash when they raided a Hong Kong flat used as an illegal gambling den on Tuesday night.
The three men and 11 women, aged between 24 and 69, were suspected to have played online baccarat games in the Prince Edward Road West flat in Mong Kok.
Police seize more than HK$100 million in illegal betting slips and arrest 71 in cross-border crackdown
From the group, a local man, 40, and a woman from mainland China, 47, were thought to be the operators of the den and the rest – all Hongkongers – were gamblers, police said.
“Inside the premises, HK$7,000 in cash and about HK$600,000 in betting chips were confiscated along with two televisions and a baccarat gambling table,” police said on Wednesday.
Police were still investigating how long the gambling den had been running and whether it was controlled by a triad.
On Wednesday morning, the suspects were being held for questioning and none of them had been charged.
Police nab 21, seize HK$53,000 in cash at Hong Kong game centre converted into a gambling den after midnight
In Hong Kong, operating a gambling establishment carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and a HK$5 million fine. Gambling in an illegal establishment carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a HK$30,000 fine.
