A 24-year-old man, Liang Liu, was arrested Thursday after police raided his Chippenham Bids store in Chesterfield County and uncovered evidence of a backroom online casino outlet.
Spokesman Lt. Jim Profita told local media that Liu was arrested and is being held without bond. His internet gambling operation had only been in action for four days before police received information on it, he disclosed.
In related news, Kong Kong police announced an online gambling bust in the Castle Peak area, where a flat was used to conduct online operations that reportedly turned over HK1.6 million a week, mainly on baccarat gambling.
Police spokesman Chief Inspector Ricky Cheung Ka-po said that the 10.30 pm raid Thursday resulted in the arrest of eight individuals and the seizure of computer equipment and other evidence, along with HK$ 253,000 in cash.
He said that police believe the illegal enterprise had been active for about six months, and that one of those detained was a Sun Yee On triad member.
“To avoid detection, it served only regular customers, and surveillance cameras were installed at the front entrance to monitor the area outside the den,” the police spokesman revealed, adding that bets ranged from HK$100 to HK$10,000, and a five per cent commission was charged for each winning bet.
“Computer records showed it took in HK$1.6 million in bets last week,” Cheung said.
Police began investigating the gambling establishment after receiving a tip-off. Officers had to break down the front door as the people inside had refused to open it, the chief inspector added.