GEORGE TOWN: They set up tents near seaside locations hidden from public view to conducting gambling activities. They even changed the venue every three days to avoid detection by the police.
But the organisers’ luck ran out when police arrested 23 people in the midst of a gambling session at a beach area in Tanjung Bungah here Thursday night.
Penang CID chief Datuk Zainol Samah said acting on a tip-off, police had been keeping the place under surveillance for three days.
A team led by state anti-vice, gaming and secret societies chief DSP Akmal Yahaya raided the place at 9pm and rounded up the suspects, he said.
“In the raid, police arrested 21 men and two women, aged between 20 and 70s. Some tried to escape but were unsuccessful because we had surrounded the place,” he told reporters yesterday.
He said a man in his 30s injured his shoulder when he fell while trying to flee.
Zainol said police seized RM65,677 in cash during the operation, adding that it was one of the biggest successes against gambling activities in open spaces this year.
“Police also seized gambling paraphernalia including 98 pieces of chips of various colours, a whiteboard, chairs, baskets and calculators,” he said. — Bernama
