Key man held in long war against gambling
(New Straits Times) – JOHOR BARU: They are organised like terrorist cells where the true identities of the masterminds are unknown to the foot soldiers and even senior leaders.
They possess an intimate grasp of the law that enables them to escape using legal loopholes.
This is the picture that is emerging from five syndicates who run 100 gambling dens in Nusajaya and northern Johor Baru.
The heads of the syndicates, who compete against each other for the millions spent in illegal computerised gambling, have eluded capture even though about 100 of their henchmen have been arrested by police.
In a raid yesterday, Nusajaya police believe they have dealt a severe blow to the five when they busted a key man in assembling the computers used in the syndicate's dens.
The 42-year-old was nabbed in a 1am raid at a shoplot in Taman Nusa Bestari. Police recovered components used to assemble computerised slot machines.
Nusajaya police chief Superintendent Abdul Aziz Ahmad said the war against the syndicates would a be protracted one.
"Since we started four months ago, we have shut down 23 illegal gambling dens in Nusajaya and arrested 100 workers and gamblers."
But the lack of manpower and the popularity of the habit among the upper-middle income earners in this fast-growing township are hampering police's efforts to stop the syndicates.
"They appear to get their supplies from second-hand computer dealers outside Johor.
"These components are brought in, assembled and supplied to the syndicates whenever one of their dens is raided so they can keep operating," Abdul Aziz said.
Yesterday's raid brought police about RM10,000 in monitors, motherboards, speakers, central processing units, television sets, power supplies and other peripherals.
The technician nabbed in the raid is being investigated under Section 4B(b) of the Gambling Houses Act 1953. If convicted he faces a fine of between RM10,000 and RM100,000 for each machine that was seized and a prison term of up to five years.
