23 Coffee shop gamblers arrested in Thailand

Authorities raid suspected gambling den during Coronavirus lockdown.

Thailand.- Twenty three people in Lampang, Thailand were arrested on Saturday for gambling in a coffee shop while under lockdown.

Led by governor Narongsak Osottanakorn, police and administrative officials raided the premises following complaints that the coffee shop beside a rice field near Phra Bat was being used as a makeshift casino.

When police arrived, the gamblers fled from the shop into bushes and a rice field. Some gambling equipment and betting stakes were seized at the scene by the police and officials as evidence.

Twenty-three of the suspects were caught, of which 18 were women and five were men. They were all reported to be aged between 30 to 60 years.

Once in police custody, they took a temperature check and urine test to check for Coronavirus symptoms. None were found to be feverish, and only one person tested positive for drugs.

Thailand currently has strict policies in place to curb the threat of Coronavirus in the country, including an executive decree against crowds gathering and an imposition of a night curfew.