Police say they believe a number of illegal gaming houses being operated in the Scarborough area could be linked to Asian organized crime.

According to Staff Sgt. Andrew Eckland, police in 42 Division have identified 28 illegal gaming houses and five illegal casinos over the last year with most of them located in either the Kennedy Road and Passmore Avenue area or the Finch Avenue and Kennedy Road area.

So far, Eckland said police have executed search warrants at four of the locations and are getting close to moving in on a number of other locations.

Eckland added that at least nine of the illegal gaming houses have shut down on their own, presumably due to news of the ongoing police investigation spreading.

The push to shut down illegal gaming houses, Eckland said, is due to a spike in violence that police have seen in and around the locations.

“We have had a double shooting at a location near Passmore Avenue and Kennedy Road, we had a robbery at a location on Montezuma trail and we have had people that have been assaulted, brutally beaten and robbed outside these locations,” he said. “We are concerned for the safety of community members that live in the area around these locations and we are concerned for those who are attending these locations. There is a criminal element out there that are going to these locations and robbing the people inside.”

Eckland said that police have seized a large amount of gambling equipment as well as drugs, firearms and cash as part of their investigation into illegal gaming houses in 42 Division.

Police have also charged three people with keeping a common gaming house and have arrested about 30 others who were caught inside the illegal gaming houses; however Eckland said that those people were released without being charged.

“A lot of them don’t know it is illegal but if we find them in another location they will be charged,” he said.

Gaming houses aren’t “mom and pop” operations

The size and sophistication of the illegal gaming houses identified by police in 42 Division has varied, but Eckland said that the smallest ones have held 15 or 20 people at a few tables while the larger ones resemble fully operational casinos with eight to 10 large tables and a number of slot machines.

Some, Eckland said, even have bars, lounges, massage rooms and dealers who wear matching white shirts, vests and bowties.

Eckland added that most of the illegal gaming houses are located in commercial properties and are leased out under the guise of being a social club.

“These aren’t your little mom-and-pop operations and these aren’t a couple of guys in garage gambling. These are miniature versions of casinos,” he said.

Police are urging anyone with information about suspected illegal gaming houses in 42 Divisions to come forward.

According to Eckland, some of the signs of an illegal gaming operation include windows that are obscured by bars or paper covering, sophisticated surveillance systems outside the premises and a constant flow of people in and out of the establishment at odd hours.

The three suspects that have been charged in connection with the illegal gaming house investigation in 42 Division have been identified as Alexander Ly, 34, Bao Li, 50, and Mei Huang, 43.

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