Almost 27 premises in the Northern Cape and North West were pounced on unannounced in a massive operation on Friday which included Hawks members from national office, the neighbouring provinces as well as the local SAPS members.
The illegal gambling sites were under our surveillance for some time, consequently, a take-down operation was conducted to dismantle the criminal enterprises.
““Numerous IT equipment such as gambling machines, computers allegedly used in the illegal gambling enterprise were seized during the operation as well as an undisclosed amount of money
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Three suspects who were allegedly involved in running the illegal network were arrested and more arrests are imminent. The three suspects arrested are expected to appear in court facing the possible charges of corruption, money laundering, racketeering, contravention of the national and provincial gambling acts.
The Hawks National Head, Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza commended all role players involved in ensuring this success.
"This take-down operation is a huge knock to the network of criminal enterprise in both provinces. I want to commend the multidisciplinary approach where all role players from the SAPS and HAWKS worked in attaining this massive success. This is just the beginning, more should be expected in other parts of the country and we will soon be knocking at their doors unannounced."