Victoria Police raid illegal casino in Melbourne’s west
Police have raided a secret high-roller casino that's allegedly been operating in Melbourne’s west for months. Detectives claim punters paid up to eight-thousand dollars for a seat at the table potentially turning over millions of dollars.
Transcript
00:00 It's not exactly Monaco, but they really, really tried.
00:06 Secreted inside a suburban factory, two poker tables, a fully stocked bar and what police
00:12 say were plenty of high rollers ready for their own casino royale.
00:17 This activity is known to be associated with organised crime and that was the focus of
00:22 our investigation tonight was to disrupt this activity.
00:25 Police last night swooped on what they say was a high-end illegal casino at Trugganina
00:30 in Melbourne's west, seizing cash and drugs and arresting a full house of 21 people, including
00:37 the alleged king behind the whole operation.
00:40 A 35-year-old man from Trugganina who's facing two years behind bars for a $192,000 fine.
00:48 The gambling den has allegedly been running for months and according to police had as
00:52 many as 50 punters a night.
00:55 Each accused of coughing up an $8,000 buy-in fee.
00:59 Taking away the assets generated from events such as this is a significant effort to disrupt
01:03 activity and organised crime.
01:05 This is where police alleged they paid to play.
01:09 Inside the factory, signs of their last hand hastily abandoned when police swooped.
01:14 The only indication this might not have been a professional operation, the TVs, office
01:19 chairs and salad bowls that would be out of place at a real casino.
01:24 Police interviewed the accused punters outside the venue.
01:27 Detectives are expecting to charge them with being inside and drinking in an illegal gambling
01:32 den they'll face court at a later date.
01:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]