Calangute: In a major gambling raid conducted in a hotel in Calangute on Saturday midnight, police apprehended 42 tourists and seized cash of over Rs ten lakh, 5,739 chips, each worth Rs 1,000, two point of sale machines and 57 mobile phones.
According to the Calangute police, they received a tip-off from a reliable source that gambling was in progress in a hotel at Gaurawaddo in Calangute following which a team of the Calangute police raided the hotel Saturday midnight.
The raid, which lasted till 6 am, resulted in the police arresting 42 tourists, who had come down to the state from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi. They were caught red-handed gambling using chips, each worth Rs 1,000. The gambling was being held on the fifth floor of the hotel, said police and added that the tourists had booked two rooms in the hotel.
Calangute police inspector Nolasco Raposo said the 42 persons who were arrested were mainly from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi. He said two booked rooms of the hotel were used for the gambling activity. A total cash of Rs 10,00,300 and 5,739 chips, two point of sale machines and 57 mobile phones were seized during the raid, he said. Sources in the Calangute police said the tourists had arrived in the state on the previous day and booked the hotel rooms.
An offence was registered against the accused persons including the organisers under provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Goa, Daman and Diu Gambling Act. All the 42 tourists were released on Sunday evening, as the offence was a bailable one, said police sources.
Police said they will be writing a letter to the tourism department and the local panchayat for appropriate action against the hotel owner for allowing his premises to be used for gambling activity.
Police sub-inspector Navin Dessai is the investigating officer in the case. The police team that undertook the raid included police inspectors Nolasco Raposo, Vijaynath Kavlekar, police sub-inspectors Dinesh Gadekar, Viraj Naik and others.
