An anti-criminal organizations agency informed the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch of British Columbia that two employees of the River Rock Casino were present at the time of a raid on an illegal Richmond-based gaming house which took place in the spring.
The two women, both of whom were registered gaming workers, were arrested and later released along with nine other people, including three men who claimed they were professional poker players. The owner of a China-located wholesale business was also among the people who were under arrest as a result of the police raid.
According to a search warrant obtained by CBC News, the raid which was held as a joint investigation between Richmond Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in March but was revealed to the wider public only recently. Police explained that no criminal charges against the people who got arrested were recommended.
CBC News reported that the owner of the River Rock Casino – Great Canadian Gaming Corporation – decided not to provide further information about the individual employees due to privacy concerns. Still, the company explained that the arrests raised some red flags which would need further enforcement action. Terrance Doyle, the Chief Operating Officer of GCGC, shared that the operator had no tolerance for any relationship between any of its staff and illegal facilities and promised that immediate action would be taken against all employees found to be engaged in such activities.
Large Amount of Money Found During the Illegal Gaming House Raid
The gaming house raid provided further information about the money-laundering issues revealed by the former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German in his independent review on the illegal schemes across British Columbia casinos. At the time when his report was published, German cited a briefing note of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police regarding organized crime threats related to local casinos and illegal gaming houses situated in the Lower Mainland.
According to the documents required to get the above-mentioned search warrant, the investigation was primarily focused on a rental space situated above an auto-repair business. The tenant of the space said they planned to use it for storage.
However, the neighbors complained that there were “dressed-up” women and “fancy cars” arriving at the place in the middle of the night. The situation was investigated for a few months by the police which finally decided to raid the business in the night of March 14th. According to the search warrant obtained by CBC News, the police found several people sitting around a gaming table and actively betting with gaming chips in front of them.
It also turned out that the raided business also had a separate room with tool cabinets stacked with gaming chips, as well as a TV set which was believed to be connected to the surveillance cameras situated over the tables, and a black backpack filled with a large amount of cash. A total amount of CA$36,260 in cash and CA$15,555 in cheques was found during the raid, with four women and seven men being arrested and searched. One of the River Rock employees was seated in a table, with CA$160 in cash and a blank cheque for more than CA$1,300, while the other was believed to be the dealer.
