Illegal Slot Machines Seized Guns
Port officials opened boxes to find illegal gambling contraband. Customs officials seized a container full of smuggled slot machines at Laem Chabang Port. In August, the police arrested 197 store managers and seized 364 machines in a crackdown on illegal gambling operations, said Inspector Frank Biehler, commander of the public morals division.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Police and city officials destroyed Tuesday afternoon at least 27 slot machines used in illegal gambling that were seized in a series of operations in several villages here.
Using steel mallets, Lt. Col. Samuel Cadungon, the deputy city police director for administration, and City Councilor Jose Edmar Yumang, led the destruction of the gambling machines in a ceremony held at the city police office headquarters in Camp Fermin Lira.
Major Rexor Jake Canoy, spokesperson of the city police office, said the slot machines were confiscated in surprise raids last week in parts of Barangays Labangal, Lagao, and Calumpang.
Canoy said the operations were ordered by city police director, Col Aden Lagradante, following reports from concerned citizens on the resurgence of illegal gambling activities using the slot machines in the three barangays.
Lagradante immediately ordered the validation of the reports and the sweep of all outlets hosting the gambling machines, he said.
The coin-fed slot machines, locally known as “Tolendoy,” feature various games using PHP1 coins as bets.
Canoy said some of the machines were found in makeshift outlets and even beside sari-sari stores, mostly drawing children.
“This is a continuing campaign and we will not stop until we clear our communities with this menace,” he said in an interview.
He said they already identified the operators of the slot machines and the case buildup is ongoing against them for the formal filing of charges.
Yumang, who chairs the council’s committee on public order and safety, commended the city police for stepping its campaign against the operations of the illegal slot machines, “which disturb the peace and order” in local communities.
The councilor urged residents to help stop these illegal activities by reporting outlets in their communities and those behind them. The official challenged the barangay councils to enforce the prohibition against illegal activities and not allow them to enter their respective areas.
“Barangay officials can make the arrest themselves if they catch the actual deployment of these machines,” he added. (PNA)
Illegal Slot Machines Seized Money
DOWNEY - Police seized slot machines from two retail stores in Downey last week, including a discount mart that was previously cited for illegal gambling last September.Members of the Downey Police Department's Special Enforcement Team confiscated two electronic slot machines from the BioHazard Smoke Shop at 12121 Paramount Blvd., Unit D, on Feb. 8.The clerk, a 29-year-old Lynwood woman, was issued a misdemeanor citation for possessing and permitting the operation of slot machines, authorities said.An additional slot machine was seized at the 98 Cents+ Mart at 13258 Woodruff Ave. The store owner, identified only as a 43-year-old Buena Park woman, was arrested.Police previously cited the store owner in September after investigators found two slot machines containing more than $900. Authorities at the time said the slot machine was being used for illegal gambling.The unidentified store owner pleaded guilty in court, police said.Owning and/or operating a slot machine is prohibited under California law, unless the machine is more than 25 years old.
Illegal Slot Machines Seized Machines
**********Published: February 17, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 44