SHAH ALAM, Jan 19 — The police arrested 72 individuals aged between 20 and 70 for their alleged involvement in illegal cockfighting and bola golek gambling during a raid at an illegal orchard near Bayu Perdana Apartments in Klang at 5.30pm yesterday.
Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said the operation, conducted under Ops Cakar, led to the arrest of two men believed to be organisers and 70 gamblers, comprising 41 locals and 31 foreign nationals, who were caught in the act.
The raid, carried out by the D7 Division together with the Selangor contingent police headquarters' Criminal Investigation Department, found the syndicate had been operating for about six months, using the secluded orchard as a venue for weekly matches every Sunday.
“The operation resulted in the seizure of RM55,075 in cash and various gambling equipment,” he said in a statement today.
The Selangor Veterinary Services Department's officers also discovered 14 live chickens and four dead chickens during the raid, believed to have died from cockfighting.
Shazeli added that investigations revealed that bets for each cockfighting match could reach up to RM10,000.
All suspects are being held at the Klang Selatan district police headquarters for further investigation under Section 7(2) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, Section 32 of the Animal Welfare Act 2015, and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
He said enforcement operations will be intensified to curb illegal gambling and urged the public to report criminal activities to the police.
