Kuta hotel room, thought to be online gambling HQ, deserted ahead of police raid
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Police came up empty when they raided a hotel room in Kuta suspected to be the operational hub of an online gambling ring on Saturday.
The raid took place at 8pm on Saturday at a hotel on Kartika Plaza Road.
Denpasar Police Chief Bambang Yugo Pamungkas, who led the raid, said that the perpetrators had fled, and officers instead found abandoned devices in the room, including four computers, seven wi-fi routers and four smartphones, along with SIM cards.
It is presumed that plans of the raid had leaked, giving the perpetrators time to escape the Kuta hotel.
“From the evidence we have gathered, this hotel room was used as an online gambling site,” Bambang explained.
“The perpetrator booked the room for quite some time, raising suspicions which was then alerted to [the police]” Bambang added.
Police are questioning hotel management and staff as they seek more leads to capture the gambling ring. The devices found in the deserted room have been confiscated as evidence.
Gambling is illegal in Indonesia.
In June, Bali police arrested an Australian national and his two Indonesian assistants for running a horse race betting event at a Seminyak pub.
