SARATOK: Police moved decisively against illegal lottery activities, arresting two local men during an operation codenamed ‘Ops Dadu’ yesterday (Jan 28).
Saratok police chief DSP Mathew Manggie said the suspects, aged 22 and 72, were taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in separate raids.
The young suspect was picked up from a hut in Roban after officers believed he was acting as an agent selling illegal lottery numbers. He was alone at the time, allegedly waiting for customers to place their bets.
“A search at the scene led to the seizure of a phone, a piece of paper bearing handwritten lottery numbers, a black-ink pen and RM20 in mixed cash.
“Preliminary checks on the phone found access to a website suspected to be used for illegal lottery transactions,” he said.
Later the same day, CID officers inspected a car workshop along Jalan Wawasan in Saratok and arrested the older suspect.
Mathew said police believed he had been selling illegal lottery numbers from within the premises while working as a cash-on-delivery parcel runner, allegedly using the activity as a source of extra income.
Also seized from him was a phone and RM85 in cash. Further checks on the device uncovered access to websites believed to facilitate illegal lottery sales.
He said both suspects have one prior record each under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, and tested negative for drugs during preliminary urine screening tests.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 4A(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
