Police arrest 317 gamblers

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A predawn raid jointly held by the North Sumatra police and military commands arrested on Wednesday 317 people for gambling.

Fifty-five of them were women and an Armed Forces member, chief of staff of the Bukit Barisan military command Brig. Gen. Djibut Hindarto announced on Thursday.

"It's an operation to stop the spreading of gambling in North Sumatra," he said.

Also confiscated during the raid were Rp 134 million (US$15,000), six mobile phones, six pagers and a number of devices used for gambling, Hindarto said.

As soon as the police complete their dossiers, the suspects will be brought to court, he said. (21)