Police arrested 18 people during a raid on a suspected illegal gambling den in Tai Po on Thursday afternoon, including two operators and 16 gamblers, authorities said.
Officers from the Tai Po district special duty squad raided a residential unit on Tai Kwong Lane around 6pm following investigations. A 62-year-old local man and a 55-year-old local woman were arrested for operating a gambling establishment. Three local men, 12 local women and one mainland Chinese woman, aged between 42 and 77, were arrested for gambling in a gambling establishment.
Police seized three mahjong tables, six sets of mahjong tiles, furniture and HK$840 in cash.
The two operators have been charged with operating a gambling establishment, while 12 of the gamblers have been charged with gambling in a gambling establishment. Their cases will be heard at Fanling Magistrates' Courts on Friday. Four other gamblers have been released on bail and must report back to police in late July.
