Two men and a woman were arrested separately on Tuesday for illegally operating two mahjong parlours in Rua Quatro do Bairro Iao Hon and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, according to a statement from Public Security Police (PSP) last week.
Sixteen local gamblers who were in the parlours when the police raided the two premises were also arrested.
The 19 local suspects aged between 40 and 70 comprise a male and a female person-in-charge of the two parlours, a man who sublet the place, and 16 gamblers (four men and 12 women).
According to the statement, the Public Security Police received two reports recently from residents that some people were illegally operating mahjong parlours in Rua Quatro do Bairro Iao Hon and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in Areia Preta and arrested the 19 suspects. The officers also seized gambling cash of about 2,000 patacas in the parlour in Areia Preta and around 1,000 patacas in the parlour in Iao Hon.
Under questioning, the two persons-in-charge admitted that they collected “fees” from the gamblers. The PSP officers seized a total of six mahjong tables, 10 sets of mah-jong tiles, and some gambling equipment in the two parlours. The subletter who was arrested in the Iao Hon parlour admitted that he rented out the parlour to the female person-in-charge for her to operate the illegal mahjong business.
The 19 suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation. The two persons-in-charge and the subletter face a charge of running an illegal gambling business while the 16 gamblers face an illegal gambling charge, according to the statement.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) last week shows four mahjong tables and eight sets of mahjong tiles seized by the police.
