In a major clampdown, police seized betting tables, other gambling equipment, liquor, money counting machine, and cash from four sports organizations in Dhaka's Motijheel area, the sporting hub of Bangladesh.
The organizations are Mohammedan Sporting Club, Victoria Sporting Club, Dilkusha Sporting Club, and Arambagh Krira Sangha.
The latest raids took place on Sunday, only three days after the crackdown started on casinos in sporting clubs by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on September 18.
However, the police could not detain anyone during Sunday's raid as there was none inside the clubs or somehow managed to flee.
Police said the drives were conducted for two and a half hours from 2:30pm.
Only the casinos were shut down after the raid, while the clubs were left open for sporting activities, said Monalisa Begum, additional deputy commissioner (Motijheel division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
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An empty roulette table and other gambling instruments seen in the picture while police officials conduct a raid at Mohammedan Sporting Club in Dhaka on Sunday, September 22, 2019 | Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune
"We seized the gambling machine in such a way so that they could not play again with these," she said.
The DMP deputy commissioner (Motijheel division) was also present during the raid.
Asked, why the raid came so late, Monalisa Begum said: "When RAB started their raids, these (casinos) were shut down (out of fear). We conducted drives so that they could not resume (running casinos).
"It (clampdown) is a continuous process. We first coordinated with RAB and then began the raids."
Police said nine betting tables and Tk1 lakh were recovered from the Victoria Sporting Club.
In the raid, indecent pictures were seen hanging on the wall while a kitchen for cooking Chinese and continental dishes was also found there.
In Mohammedan Sporting Club, the law enforcement agency seized two betting tables. They also found 12 walkie-talkies, gambling boards, and money counting machine there.
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Betting chips ,cards and documents scattered on a betting table of a casino on Sunday, September 22, 2019 | Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune
In Dilkusha Sporting Club, one betting table and 13 gambling boards were seized by police. There were different small-sized rooms for gamblers.
Besides, police found a betting table, two gambling boards, and about 500 casino chips at Arambagh Krira Sangha.
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Raid in Chandpur
Nine suspected gamblers, including the members from Community Policing and local Awami League leaders, were detained during a raid at Ekadosh Club in Chandpur early Sunday.
Police said they would continue such raid in the district.
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In the last few days, RAB and police also raided different clubs in Dhaka and Chittagong busting illegal casinos where several people were detained.
