Ontario’s Illegal Gambling Unit have charged seven after four searches
Friday 31st August 2007
Police in the Canadian city of Mississauga have charged seven people with running illegal gambling houses following a series of raids in which as many as 80 people were detained.
After an investigation that began in December, Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) Illegal Gambling Unit in co-operation with the Peel Regional Police executed search warrants on four businesses in the southern Ontario city, one July 21, two August 26 and one Monday.
The OPP’s Detective Staff Sergeant, Clint Hunter, said that their investigations had confirmed that four gaming houses were inviting the public to play Texas Hold 'Em and other games of poker with players being charged fees.
Hunter said that no charges were brought against the players and they were released unconditionally. But, charges would be brought against the seven owners of the four premises for ‘keeping a common gaming house’.
The OPP's Illegal Gambling Unit is part of the OPP's Organized Crime Section and is a specialized police unit headed by the OPP in partnership with police services in Toronto, London, Peel, York, Windsor and Ottawa responsible for investigating province-wide illegal gambling operations.
Canadian police say that millions of dollars are made from similar illegal operations with the proceeds often funding organised crime.
Police in the Canadian city of Mississauga have charged seven people with running illegal gambling houses following a series of raids in which as many as 80 people were detained.