More than 150 Vietnamese gamblers were arrested in a police raid on a large-scale, illegal gambling ring in An Giang, a Mekong Delta province bordering Cambodia, over the weekend.

The raid was a joint operation between the province’s police officers and their peers from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

Senior Colonel Dinh Van Noi, director of the provincial Police Department, said law enforcement officers had conducted the raid at around 11:00 am on Sunday in an empty piece of land in Da Phuoc Commune, An Phu District, An Giang.

At that time, more than a hundred gamblers were present. They tried to flee arrest but were eventually captured by authorities.

As a result, more than 150 gamblers, including many young people, were taken into custody.

Officers seized over VND500 million (US$18,200), which included cash confiscated from the scene of the crime, the gamblers, and the house of the alleged mastermind, as well as 15 roosters used in cockfights, six dice, a 52-card deck, five cars, and 71 scooters, among other items.

Authorities said the large-scale gambling ring was led by a local man, identified as Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, 51, in Da Phuoc Commune.

He ordered people to keep a lookout for local police to protect his racket.

A further investigation is underway into the operation.

Any individual who organizes gambling faces a fine between VND50 million ($1,800) and VND300 million ($11,000) and one to five years behind bars, according to Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.

A convict will be given a prison sentence of five to ten years if the offense is committed in a professional manner, and the illegal profit is over VND50 million ($1,800).

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