KUCHING: There was no let-up in the crackdown against illegal gambling in the state as dozens of raids and arrests were conducted in 18 districts the past week, said Sarawak head of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Dato Dev Kumar.
He said from 25 September to 1 October, the state police conducted 78 successful gambling raids that resulted in the arrests of 96 individuals.
The types of gambling involved were illegal sales of lotteries or 4D (73 raids) and cyber gambling with five raids.
Raids conducted by teams from CID HQ and district CIDs included 21 raids (by CID HQ) conducted in Kuching, Padawan and Kota Samarahan and for the CIDs district level there were nine raids in Miri; seven raids in Sibu; six raids in Kuching; six raids in Bintulu; five raids in Padawan; five raids in Sarikei; three raids in Bau; three raids in Serian; two raids in Kota Samarahan, two raids in Sri Aman; two raids in Limbang; one raid each in Betong, Lawas, Meradong, Simunjan, Saratok, Julau and Mukah.
The 73 illegal lottery (4D) raids resulted in the arrests of 81 individuals and seizure of cash amounting to RM18,850.
Mobile phones, portable printers, calculators, betting slips and stationeries were also seized.
Apart from illegal 4D, five raids were conducted at cyber gambling outlets in Kuching, Padawan and Kota Samarahan that resulted in the arrests of 15 individuals and seizure of 25 tablets used for cyber gambling. Cash amounting to RM8,171 was also seized. Four of the raids were conducted by teams from CID HQ in Kuching and Padawan.
Of the 96 arrested, 57 were males while the rest were females. They were aged between 17 and 67 years old. Ten of them were foreigners.
All those arrested are being investigated for offences under the Common Gaming House Act 1953 and Immigration Act.
Sarawak police have successfully eradicated fish, wukong and slot machines in the state. All the joints and recreational clubs that operated these machines have closed down for many months now.
“We are confident that we have seen the end of these machines in Sarawak,” the CID chief pointed out.
However, he added that the same cannot be said of illegal 4D and cyber gambling. Despite countless raids every week, counters selling illegal 4D continue to operate but less visibly than before. The CID has been taking a tougher approach by detaining and remanding illegal 4D operators with the hope of discouraging them from reopening their counters.
Dev said cyber gambling still continued to exist but in a more clandestine manner. Gone are the days of outlets having computers, laptops and tablets for cyber gambling. Since the closure of these cyber gambling outlets in the state, operators continue to feed the gambling addiction by providing reload services and online transactions instead to gamblers using mobile phones. After reloading their tablets or phones, these gamblers are able to gamble anywhere, either in coffee shops or their homes.
The no-nonsense approach towards illegal gambling taken by the Commisioner of Police, Dato’ Amer Awal has made all OCPDs more responsible and accountable to the state of affairs in their respective districts, especially when it comes to illegal gambling.
Sarawak police will continue to take steps to ensure that illegal gambling is eradicated in the state, Dev added.
