OSAKA (TR) – In what Osaka Prefectural Police are describing as a historic bust, officers on Monday arrested 24 persons in the raid of a casino operating illegally in the Minami entertainment district, reports the Asahi Shimbun (June 26).
At 11:50 a.m., about 170 officers entered casino 01, located on the fourth floor of a building in the Shinsaibashi area, and arrested Masaaki Miyatake, the 41-year-old manager, and nine other employees, aged between 26 and 47, for allegedly providing customers with baccarat gambling.
Miyatake admits to the allegations, telling police that he took a commission on the gambling action.
Police also arrested 14 male and female customers inside the premises at the time of the raid. An additional 26 customers and employees were questioned, bringing the total number of persons under scrutiny to 50, the largest figure for the raid of a gambling parlor in Osaka Prefecture over the past 10 years.
According to Mainichi Broadcasting System (June 27), the casino included measures to prevent a bust, including 40 security cameras mounted inside and outside the premises and a double door at the entrance. As well, the elevator did not stop on the fourth floor, a mechanism in place that permitted customers to enter only via escort by an employee from another floor.
During the raid, police seized 9 million yen in cash and five baccarat tables. Law enforcement seized an additional 200 million yen in cash during searches of other properties connected to the casino.
