Illegal casino raided in Wellington

7.30pm


An alleged illegal casino operating in central Wellington has been closed down by the Department of Internal Affairs and eight people have been arrested.

Keith Manch, director of the department's gaming and censorship regulation group, said the casino was believed to be linked to an Asian organised crime group.

A large amount of money was also seized when a search warrant was executed on Friday night.

"To give an idea of the scale of this operation, we know of one gambler who lost almost $30,000 in a few days, and we estimate that tens of thousands of dollars would probably have changed hands on a busy night," Mr Manch said in a statement today.

He said the upstairs casino venue was set up as a sophisticated gaming room with tables and dealers for baccarat, blackjack, poker and Chinese chess.

Mr Manch said the casino was an elaborate and illegal operation. The investigation would continue for several more weeks and was already producing valuable intelligence for all agencies involved.

The "handful" of people gambling on Friday were given formal warnings that they were participating in illegal gambling. Of the eight people arrested, six will be charged with operating illegal games of chance. Two will be charged with other offences.

Those arrested are aged between 18 and 29 and will appear in Wellington District Court on Friday.

- NZPA