Datuk Seri among 19 arrested over slot machine gambling activities

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim said the 55-year-old man was arrested at his residence in Bukit Segar, Cheras, here on May 20.

Speaking at a media conference at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, he said the Datuk Seri was the mastermind of the slot machine gambling syndicate that was believed to have been active since early this year.

Azmi said nine other people, including a woman, five Myanmar men and three Bangladeshi men, aged 17 to 71, were arrested in separate raids on the same day, and that police seized RM579,000 in cash, three watches worth RM238,000; seven gold bars and lockets worth RM58,250; and three vehicles worth RM1.2 million found at the Datuk Seri's residence.

Earlier raids on gambling premises around Jalan Pudu on May 17 had led to the arrests of nine others, three Bangladeshi men and three Myanmar men who were gambling at the time, and also a local and two Myanmar men who were caretakers.

The police also seized gambling equipment, four gambling computers, two boxes of gambling software, two chips of gambling credits, gambling record books and cash worth RM10,213 during the raid, he added.

He said that the case was being investigated under Sections 4(1)(C) and 6(1) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 for not possessing a permit to enter the country, adding that four of the arrested would be charged under the Prevention of Crimes Act (POCA) 1959 with two of them facing additional charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA) 2001.