Items used for illegal lottery activities which have been seized by police.
KUCHING: Police have yet to detect any form of election gambling in the state but warn that they are closely watching.
State CID chief SAC Dev Kumar vowed not to let their guard down and would ensure that elections are conducted fairly and smoothly without any influence from gamblers.
“We are closely monitoring individuals who may involve themselves in election gambling. So far, we have not uncovered any such activity but will be on the lookout,” he said in a statement issued yesterday.
Dev Kumar also revealed that personnel from Bukit Aman, who are currently stationed here for the state election, had teamed up with their local counterparts to bust illegal lottery operations following reports that such activities were rampant in Batu Kawah.
He said a special operation on Wednesday made six raids at four coffee shops, a food court and a bicycle shop which resulted in the arrest of 12 individuals and a seizure of cash amounting to RM9,491 believed to be betting money.
“Four raids were conducted by the Bukit Aman Cantas D7 team and one each by Padawan CID and state D7 personnel,” said Dev Kumar.
Among those arrested were eight females aged 15 to 32, while the males were 26 to 63 years old. All were locals except for the 26-year-old male.
During the raids various items of illegal lottery activities such as calculators, mobile phones, portable printers, betting ledgers and slips were also seized for exhibit.
All the suspects are being investigated under Section 4A(a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953.