Published on Jun 2, 2002
Seized diskette 'has names, details of large sums at stake'
Police yesterday said they had caught major football bookmakers on the Muang Thong Thani housing estate in northwest Bangkok red-handed with gambling records on a computer diskette that indicated stakes of several millions of baht.
The first police crackdown since the 17th World Cup finals kicked off on Friday was spearheaded by police from Nonthaburi's Pakkret district.
Police Major Kritnan Inchoo said a tip-off had led to the search of a shop named "Fifa Soccer Cup", which sells footballs and accessories, magazines and souvenirs, in a condominium building on the estate.
He said that when police arrived with a search warrant they found about 20 enthusiastic football fans watching the live broadcast of the World Cup match between Cameroon and Ireland on television. They all tried to flee when they saw the officers, but were stopped at the shop's front door and questioned. Police said that four were found to be football gamblers.
The four, and two shopkeepers - Worachat Thongtama, 25, and Pornsawan Manasjaworn, 27 - were then taken into custody.
Worachat claimed that he did not work at the shop, but had just dropped by to make a phone call.
Police identified the four alleged gamblers as Phisit Sophonthanasak, Sarayut Wongchoo, Saman Jandam and Aram Saeng-arun.
They said they had also confiscated from the shop a list of gamblers' names and their betting details on a diskette, a desktop computer, a facsimile machine, a schedule of the World Cup tournament, and Bt71,000 in cash.
Kritnan said information contained on the diskette showed that the betting on each football match totalled more than Bt1 million. Betting had been accepted via the Internet, telephone, and in person at the shop, he added.
Betting prices ranged between Bt100 and Bt5,000, while winning prizes ranged from thousands to millions of baht. Gold necklaces were also offered as incentives for those who bet more than Bt500, said Kritnan.
He also said that apart from complaints from residents in the neighbourhood, the police operation was the result of a National Police Office policy to take strict action against football bookmakers.
Seized diskette 'has names, details of large sums at stake'
Police yesterday said they had caught major football bookmakers on the Muang Thong Thani housing estate in northwest Bangkok red-handed with gambling records on a computer diskette that indicated stakes of several millions of baht.
The first police crackdown since the 17th World Cup finals kicked off on Friday was spearheaded by police from Nonthaburi's Pakkret district.
Police Major Kritnan Inchoo said a tip-off had led to the search of a shop named "Fifa Soccer Cup", which sells footballs and accessories, magazines and souvenirs, in a condominium building on the estate.
He said that when police arrived with a search warrant they found about 20 enthusiastic football fans watching the live broadcast of the World Cup match between Cameroon and Ireland on television. They all tried to flee when they saw the officers, but were stopped at the shop's front door and questioned. Police said that four were found to be football gamblers.
The four, and two shopkeepers - Worachat Thongtama, 25, and Pornsawan Manasjaworn, 27 - were then taken into custody.
Worachat claimed that he did not work at the shop, but had just dropped by to make a phone call.
Police identified the four alleged gamblers as Phisit Sophonthanasak, Sarayut Wongchoo, Saman Jandam and Aram Saeng-arun.
They said they had also confiscated from the shop a list of gamblers' names and their betting details on a diskette, a desktop computer, a facsimile machine, a schedule of the World Cup tournament, and Bt71,000 in cash.
Kritnan said information contained on the diskette showed that the betting on each football match totalled more than Bt1 million. Betting had been accepted via the Internet, telephone, and in person at the shop, he added.
Betting prices ranged between Bt100 and Bt5,000, while winning prizes ranged from thousands to millions of baht. Gold necklaces were also offered as incentives for those who bet more than Bt500, said Kritnan.
He also said that apart from complaints from residents in the neighbourhood, the police operation was the result of a National Police Office policy to take strict action against football bookmakers.
