Police Seize £20,000 In Manchester Illegal Gambling Raid
Greater Manchester Police arrested four men and seized more than £20,000 in suspected laundered cash after simultaneous raids on premises in Manchester city centre suspected of running illegal gambling operations.
Officers executed four warrants around Deansgate and elsewhere in the city centre on the evening of September 21, GMP said.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, a third on suspicion of money laundering and breaching the Gambling Act 2005 by allegedly providing gambling facilities without authority, and a fourth on suspicion of licensing offences linked to running a late-night takeaway without a licence.
Officers seized gambling tables, records and account books alongside the cash and mobile phones. GMP said the more than £20,000 recovered is believed to have been laundered, and it was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Built On Intelligence From An Earlier Raid
PC Nial Vivian of GMP's Manchester City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team said the operation was made possible by intelligence gathered during a similar raid in May.
"This work specifically targets reports of illegal gambling and premises operating without the appropriate licences," Vivian said. "This joint approach demonstrates our continued ability to problem solve within the city, and the intelligence gathering and execution of four simultaneous warrants have led to these results."
Vivian added that the operation involved GMP's Neighbourhood Policing officers working alongside the Gambling Commission and Manchester City Council's Licensing Team, and that the force intends to keep building on the intelligence gathered, GMP said in a statement. The two people arrested in May, Wing Suet Mak and Tsz To Kwok, are due to appear before Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court the week of September 28.
Part Of A Wider Crackdown
The Manchester raids follow enforcement action against a suspected illegal gambling den in Birmingham earlier this year, as UK police forces work more closely with the Gambling Commission to target unlicensed operators.
The regulator has previously warned that unlicensed gambling operations often carry links to wider organised crime and exploit vulnerable people, and that partnering with police forces on joint operations remains a priority, as it noted after a similar Manchester raid in May.
Anyone with information about suspected illegal gambling premises - or links to illegal sports betting - can report it to GMP or the Gambling Commission.
