Thai Gambling Den Raid Goes Amok

Posted on: April 13, 2013, 05:51h. 

Last updated on: April 12, 2013, 03:53h.

Katie Barlowe Read More

In an attempt to quash illegal gambling operations in Thailand, Commander-in-Chief General Adul Snagsingkaew announced a crackdown on gambling dens and other places of ‘vice’ throughout the country. As a result, more than 200 officers from Metropolitan Police Division 2 recently took part in a Thai gambling den raid carried out on the infamous Tao Poon casino in Bangkok. However, the operation didn’t go quite to plan as patrons of the venue took umbrage to the raid and decided to defend their right to gamble.

Police Attacked by Unhappy Gamblers

Local news reports stated that upon the arrival of the initial 50-strong police squad, the entry points to the casino were too well-fortified to use, so the police proceeded to climb onto the roofs of the neighboring buildings, using ladders to bridge the gaps between the rooftops in a daring bid to gain access to the building. However, during this part of the operation, the police came under attack from locals who began pelting the police with sticks, rocks, bottles, ceiling tiles and basically anything else the irate locals could throw at them. It was noted that some even used fire extinguishers and scalding hot water on the poor police.

No Haul

The delay caused by the attack on the police meant that once they had finally gained access to the casino through a vent, all they found were nine gambling tables, but no gamblers, employees or cash. In fact, not a single arrest was made in the operation during which three officers were injured, including two who fell from the rooftop during the pelting.

Rather comically, the commander of Metropolitan Police Division 2 stated that he believed “we have sent our message across that we are seriously cracking down on gambling”. The illegal bookies are sure to be quivering with fear after the last operation was thwarted by locals with sticks and stones.

 Gambling Popular in Thailand

Gambling in Thailand has reached a level of popularity which is unseen throughout the majority of the world. In fact, gambling is third on the list of prosecuted crimes in that country, as the courts saw 49,752 gambling cases last year, placing the pastime behind just drug and traffic offences as there are few opportunities to partake in legal recreational gambling activity.

This really has caused Thai gamblers to get creative with their enjoyment of gambling, such as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s recent announcement of three new government transport vehicles which caused a ruckus with the bookies as the previous plates on Shinawatra’s state-sponsored transport contained four-digit strings of numbers which matched winning lottery results.

Lucky Plates

The announcement has resulted in underground lottery players resorting to playing the new license plate numbers in the hope that the Prime Minister’s transport will once again predict the winning lottery numbers. So popular have these numbers been that underground lotteries have had to stop accepting them as a hedge against a potentially huge payout. This had lead to a further underground sale of tickets from those who were lucky enough to purchase the tickets before the ban came in, which they are doing at a 700 percent profit.