Sampan Kammanee (left) and his
crew were arrested for
allegedly running an illegal lottery.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
More than 50 Chonburi provincial police officers raided a
Nongprue home and arrested 68 people allegedly managing an illegal lottery.
The Aug. 16 raid at the Moo 13 residence captured eight
men and 60 women recording numbers on lottery tickets. Sampan Kammanee, 41,
reportedly confessed to being the owner of the house and lottery manager.
Officers seized 25 fax machines, 12 laptop computers, 63 calculators, 20
bank books, 10 cashier checks, 100,000 baht in cash, three shotguns and
tickets faxed from all over Thailand.
Region 2 Police Commander Lt. Gen. Thai Prajsatru said
the bust was the largest he’s ever seen on the Eastern Seaboard, but that
officers believe several more dealers are operating in the Sriracha area.
He said the Pattaya-area operation recorded bets from 108
customers with more than 100 million baht wagered. Each employee, he said,
earned 1,500 baht per day. Thai also alleged Sampan was engaged in illegal
loan operations and had been running the lottery for three months.
Police said telephone numbers of the 108 lottery
customers were recovered and they will be pursued for arrest.
