Pol Col Seehanat Prayoonrat, secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), said today (March 2) that although his office had formally seized the casino premises, gamblers still managed to sneak in regularly to continue their illegal activities.
A joint force of police and soldiers searched the place again late last week.
Pol Col Seehanat said he discussed the issue with national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Pumpunmuang, who said he had plans to turn the casino into a police sub-station, where officers would be deployed to offer public services.
Last Friday (February 27) police and soldiers had force their way through angry locals to reach and break into the three-storey Tao Pun casino, inside a 1,000-square-metre compound on Soi Khao San alley.
Authorities found no gamblers there at the time, but found a lot of gambling equipment, including Baccarat tables and a slot machine, as well as eight pistols.
Police had also recently raided the Tao Pun gambling den four times, but failed to arrest anyone.
The 11-million-baht property is believed to belong to an influential figure, but land title deed shows a food vendor is the owner. Amlo froze the ownership of the building in early 2013.
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