Police arrest 356 gamblers

JAKARTA (JP): Police arrested over the weekend 356 gamblers, mostly operators of the popular toto gelap operators, and seized hundreds of millions of rupiah during a raid on busy Jl. Gadjah Mada in West Jakarta.

The raid began on Friday evening and lasted till the early hours of Saturday morning.

Toto gelap, or togel as it is also known, is a bet based on four, three, or two numbers released every two or three days by dozens of gambling operators.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said on Sunday that 48 of the arrested people were females.

After being interrogated on Saturday for several hours at Jakarta Police Headquarters, at least 80 of them were later released "due to lack of evidence", the officer said.

Millions of Jakartans, particularly those from the lower socioeconomic bracket, have participated in the gambling craze, in the hope of earning big money during these tough economic times.

Those who correctly select two of the four winning numbers announced by the operators receive cash worth 60 times their bet. Those who correctly select all four winning numbers are paid 2,500 times their bet.

The technique of selecting the winning numbers remains a secret.

Unlike the past few years, agents run their gambling business openly. Gambling is illegal in Indonesia. (ylt)