At least 216 individuals have been arrested by Malaysian police as a result of 33 anti-gambling raids in two states carried out during the Chinese New Year period.
In Johor, a state in the south of the Malay Peninsula, police detained 181 suspects in 23 raids during an operation nicknamed “Op Limau”. The suspects, all aged between 20 and 60, included 136 local men, 37 local women, as well as five male and three female foreigners.
Chief Commissioner of Johor Police, M. Kumar, stated that the operation took place over a duration of ten days from February 5th to 15th, and that officers seized various gambling equipment as well as RM162,533.50 ($33,888) in cash.
“The suspects were found violating the Open Gambling Houses Act 1953, by engaging in numerous gambling activities including traditional and modified games such as Pai Gow, Cho Tai Tee, Leaf Up, Labi, See Kee Pee, Poker, among others,” noted the commissioner.
Meanwhile, further east, police were also busy as the same operation nabbed 23 men and 12 women aged between 20 and 75 years old in ten anti-gambling raids across the state of Sabah.
Authorities raided premises in Kota Kinabalu, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, and Semporna districts, using a total of 179 officers, seizing a total of RM54,911 ($11,448) in cash as well as gambling paraphernalia, including chips, playing cards, dice, dominoes, mahjong tiles and dominoes.
