Police arrested 36 people on Friday in an illegal casino set up in a shanty area in Yuen Long, the New Territories.
At 10:30pm, a 56-year-old man was arrested for allegedly operating the gambling den in a shanty structure on Ping Ha Road in Tin Shui Wai, Oriental Daily reported; another 56-year-old man and a woman aged 40 were arrested for allegedly assisting the gambling operation.
Two Filipinas and a Filipino man, all holding local identity cards, and one Indian and two Pakistani asylum seekers, as well as 21 local men and six local women aged between 18 and 71 were arrested at the scene for allegedly gambling in the establishment.
All were detained at Yuen Long Police Station for further questioning.
An electronic mahjong table, two sets of mahjong tiles, two packs of cards, HK$4,000 (US$5,103) in bets and HK$2,000 alleged to have been paid as commissions by the players to the operators were seized, Headline Daily reported.
An inspector of the anti-triad squad in Yuen Long Police District believed that the gambling den had been in operation for three to four months and brought in monthly revenue of HK$100,000 (US$12,761).
The illegal casino was extensive in scale, and featured a number of surveillance cameras set up for security purposes. It not only laid on gambling but also provided food and beverage for gamblers.