Bangladesh\u2019s illegal casino crackdown is threatening to upend the nation\u2019s political scene as some of the arrested individuals start ratting out their higher-ups.<\/p>\n
Police in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka staged more raids on illegal gambling operations this weekend, building on\u00a0a series of raids<\/strong>\u00a0that began last Wednesday. Those original raids on five sporting clubs resulted in the arrests of 182 individuals, including a leader of the Jubo League, the youth wing of the ruling Awami League party.<\/p>\n On Sunday, police shut down two other sporting clubs that were found to contain illegal gambling operations. The\u00a0Daily Star<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0quoted\u00a0Lokman Hossain<\/strong>, director of the Mohammedan Sporting Club, saying he was \u201cforced to give away the space due to political pressure,\u201d although the BTK2m (US$23,700) per month the club earned in hosting fees didn\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n Hossain wouldn\u2019t name the politicians who applied this pressure but said it shouldn\u2019t be any great mystery to those who follow local politics. \u201cLook at the newspapers and you will find the names.\u201d<\/p>\n An unidentified top official at the Victoria Sporting Club wasn\u2019t as discreet, directly fingering\u00a0Hossain Samrat<\/strong>, president of the Dhaka South Jubo League, as the one who first suggested the Club rent out space to a casino operator. The official said not everyone was happy with this proposal, but the Club relies on donations to fund its operations and the casino paid rent of up to BTK40k ($475) per day.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Daily Star<\/em>\u00a0quoted other sources that said the longstanding involvement of political figures in illegal gambling was no great secret. Questions are also being raised as to how the casinos were able to operate so openly without any efforts by police to shut them down.<\/p>\n Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor\u00a0Sayeed Khokon<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0quoted in local media<\/strong>\u00a0saying he informed local authorities of the involvement of one of his councillors in the illegal gambling business two months ago \u201cbut I didn\u2019t see any progress to this end.\u201d<\/p>\n Jubo League Chairman\u00a0<\/strong>Omar Faruk Chowdhury<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0less charitable in his view<\/strong>\u00a0of police inaction, noting that some estimates put the number of illegal casinos in Dhaka at 60 and that four of the raided clubs were within 300 yards of a police station. \u201cLaw enforcement agencies, have you been sucking your thumbs for so long?\u201d<\/p>\n On Sunday, Home Minister\u00a0Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal<\/strong>\u00a0told reporters that the casino crackdown \u201cis being taken on the Prime Minister\u2019s directives.\u201d Kamal emphasized that the government had no intention of legalizing gambling and \u201cpolitician, public representative or any established person in the society will not be allowed to run casino business.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the casino staff arrested in these raids are Nepalese nationals and the\u00a0Dhaka Tribune<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0quoted a police investigator who said the ringleader appears to be\u00a0Ashish Shrestha<\/strong>, an assistant managing director at the Bally\u2019s Casino in Kathmandu. The investigator said Shrestra \u201cwas involved in setting up the casino equipment and acted as a skilled hand for operation of the machines at Victoria Club.\u201d<\/p>\n Other reports suggest that as many as 100 foreign nationals \u2013 including some allegedly linked to casinos in the Indian state of Goa \u2013 are overseeing gambling activities in Bangladesh. Kamal said the government would \u201ctalk to the respective embassies in taking necessary action.\u201d<\/p>\n