A suspected employee of an illegal gambling operation in Nishikawaguchi, Kawaguchi City has been found by police hiding in an apartment in Urasoe City, Okinawa Prefecture.
The 44-year-old man, of no fixed residence and without employment, is one of 25 people including both employees and customers to have been arrested in relation to the case following a raid by the Prefectural Police Investigation l, Division 4, Warabi Station and Kawaguchi Station Special Investigation Team.
The illegal operation is suspected of profiteering from running baccarat between June 2019 and June 2020. The Saitama Prefectural Police raided a residential home that was hosting the baccarat game, located near JR Nishi-Kawaguchi Station, on 13 June and by 14 June had arrested 13 employees and five customers on suspicion of bookmaking and gambling.
According to police, the man arrested this week was not on premises the day it was raided, but his involvement had been suspected based on statements given by others and images from security cameras.
When the prefectural police investigated his whereabouts, he was found hiding in an Okinawa apartment last Thursday and arrested.
According to reports, the man said he, “knew about the arrests and ran away thinking things were bad.”
