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80 people Arrested during series of Raids of Illegal Gambling houses

Police have charged seven people with running illegal gambling houses following a series of raids in Mississauga in which as many as 80 people were arrested.Members of the OPP’s Illegal Gambling Unit, in co-operation with the Peel Regional Police, executed search warrants on four Mississauga businesses in the past several weeks.

After an investigation that began last December, police raided one unit in Mississauga on July 21 and busted two operations last Sunday and one on Monday, according to Det. Staff Sgt. Clint Hunter.

He said the investigation confirmed that four gaming houses were inviting the public to attend to play Texas Hold ‘em and other games of poker, with people charging fees from the activity.

The warrants were executed at Topflight Poker Club, 125 Topflight Dr.; Pockets at 6160 Netherhart Rd., Unit No. 10; No Limit Club at 5500 Tomken Rd., Unit 8; and Hollywood, at 2408 Haines Rd., Unit 5.

Police decided not to charge the players, who were released unconditionally.

But police laid charges of keeping a common gaming house against the operators of the establishments.

The OPP’s Illegal Gambling Unit is part of the OPP’s Organized Crime Section. It is a specialized police unit headed by the OPP in partnership with police services in Toronto, London, Peel, York, Windsor and Ottawa.

The unit is responsible for investigating province-wide illegal gambling operations.

Police say millions of dollars are made from these operations and often the proceeds can wind up with organized crime. Sometimes drugs and weapons are seized, but none were seized in these latest raids, police said.