Manama: Kuwait will deport five Indians after they were caught gambling at a public place in the coastal area of Fahaiheel.
Security sources said that police arrested the gamblers as they were patrolling the area.
“Their attention was drawn by the presence of a group of people, and when they approached them, they discovered the Indians gambling,” the sources told Kuwaiti daily Al Rai.
“The police asked for their identity documents and discovered that two of them did not have valid papers. The five men, all Indians, were arrested and referred to the competent authorities who will take the necessary measures ahead of their deportation,” the sources added.
Gambling is banned in Kuwait, and authorities are concerned that the trend of gambling on the Internet is growing.
Media reports in Kuwait City said a large number of young people from different nationalities are gambling through social networking sites, playing mainly Poker, Black Jack and Roulette.
Last month, security officers in Kuwait arrested 11 foreigners for turning a flat in the Salmiya area in the capital Kuwait City into a gambling den.
“The officers raided the flat after monitoring it for several days following tips about men going there for illegal activities,” a security source said.
“Investigations revealed that seven Asians and four Arabs were running the gambling in the flat. They were all arrested and referred to the competent authorities for legal action,” the source added.
In February last year, security officers arrested a Kuwaiti doctor for reportedly running an illegal casino in the country.
According to reports, 33 other people, including one American citizen and three European nationals, were also arrested in the raid.
The casino, believed to be the largest in the country where gambling is strictly prohibited, charged high fees.
The police raided the makeshift casino after a Kuwaiti man lost 200,000 dinars (Dh2.60 million) and informed authorities about its existence.
Police closely monitored the area and gathered enough evidence to raid the casino and make arrests. They learned that the American man owned a casino in the US and that the Europeans were professionals who operated in international gambling halls.
According to reports, smaller illegal casinos had also been secretly opened in various areas of the country and that a massive raid would be launched.
