Police in Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese provinces are stepping up their crackdowns on illegal gambling in public spaces, arresting scores of people in a series of raids.
On April 16, Hong Kong police launched an operation to break up an illegal street gambling ring in Kwai Chung, the Chinese media outlet China.com reported.
Police said they arrested four Hong Kong residents at the scene. The suspects are all male, with the youngest aged 68 and the eldest aged 82.
Detectives said they seized gambling paraphernalia and an undisclosed amount of cash during the operation.
The arrestees’ cases will be heard together at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on April 30.
Chinese Gambling Crackdowns
Meanwhile, in the province of Hangzhou, the provincial Public Security Bureau reported that police in Xindeng used drone technology to identify and arrest a group of individuals suspected of gambling at a hillside pavilion in a public cemetery.
Police said they arrested 13 people and confiscated 10,000 yuan (almost $1,470) worth of gambling funds. Officers also confiscated assorted gambling paraphernalia at the scene.
Detectives said the suspects chose the spot because it was secluded and hard to reach. But after police saw a suspicious-looking group of people congregating at the pavilion on April 14, they dispatched a drone.
Five minutes later, officers said, the drone had relayed “clear images of several people gathered in the pavilion, making bets.”
Officers say they have charged all of the suspects with gambling-related violations, but explained their investigation is still active.
A Rise in Forest Gambling
Police across China say they are fighting back against a sharp rise in so-called “forest gambling.”
This typically involves groups of bettors agreeing to meet in remote, mainly rural areas. The gamblers reportedly believe that illegal gambling is safe if carried out in areas the police do not usually patrol.
But Chinese police say they now have access to a broad range of drone-powered innovations that help them look for groups of gamblers in woodland areas, abandoned buildings, lakeside resorts, and mountainous areas.
Some police agencies have also dispatched small groups of officers to conduct daily outdoor walking patrols in remote and semi-rural areas.
These patrols typically monitor activities in small, narrow village alleys and deep forested areas to counter the rise of “forest gambling” rings.
