Police raid gambling den

Police raid gambling den

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Police raided what is believed
to be the town's largest gambling den after a month of
surveillance, an officer said on Monday.

The chief of the provincial police detectives, Maj. Dewa Putu
Anom, said police arrested 53 gamblers during the raid on early
Sunday.

Among those arrested were government officials, including a
public relations officer at state-owned Pertamina oil and gas
company.

Anom said turnover at the gambling den, which used a
children's amusement center as its front, could reach hundreds of
millions of rupiah per day.

Police are currently looking for Hasan Basri, or Bang (big
brother) Hasan, the owner of the amusement center, who also is
suspected of being involved in drugs and prostitution.

Hasan, who regularly travels to Singapore and Batam, is
rumored to be shielded from arrest by his friendships with
influential people in South Sulawesi and Jakarta.

Police also confiscated 92 gambling machines which could be
converted into ordinary games, two computers, tens of millions of
rupiah and game coins worth Rp 20,000 each. (27/emf)