On 17/8, the Criminal Police Department of Da Nang City Police announced the arrest of 8 individuals for "organizing gambling" and "gambling." Police are also pursuing other individuals connected to the operation.
Phan Huu Hai, 49, established the gambling den at his auto repair shop, Hong Hai, located at 212 Ton Duc Thang Street, Hoa Khanh Ward. The shop is situated on National Highway 1A, surrounded by residential houses.
While the front of the garage continued its normal auto repair operations, the back housed a two-story building that had been modified into a closed-off gambling den. Hai equipped the den with multiple reinforced doors, a surveillance camera system, and remote lookouts.
The den attracted dozens of gamblers daily, with transactions ranging from 500 million to 1 billion VND.
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Phan Huu Hai, fourth from the left, along with 7 other individuals caught red-handed. Photo: Police Department |
After a period of surveillance, at 4 p.m. on 14/8, a special task force from the Criminal Police Department launched a surprise raid. They diverted the attention of the auto repair staff, bypassed the surveillance system, and breached three layers of doors.
As the final door swung open, two gambling dens were revealed. The sounds of dice rolling and cards shuffling abruptly ceased. 8 people were caught red-handed, unable to conceal the cash.
In the first den, 4 people were gambling on a card game called "binh," with Hai participating directly. The second den housed another 4 individuals playing a card game called "phom."
Initial statements indicate that in the den where Hai participated, 43 rounds had been played, totaling over 300 million VND by the time of the raid. In the other den, bets ranged from approximately 2 million to 20 million VND per round, totaling approximately 200 million VND at the time of the bust.
Police confiscated over 216 million VND in cash at the scene. A quick check of the individuals' bank accounts suggests the total amount involved in the gambling operation could exceed 1 billion VND.
Ngoc Truong
