LAMPANG: Twenty-three people were caught for gambling at a coffee shop in Muang district on Saturday evening.
Police and administrative officials led by governor Narongsak Osottanakorn raided the premises following a complaint that a coffee shop beside a rice field near Thok Huachang Pattana village in tambon Phra Bat was being used as a casino.
When they arrived shortly after 6.30pm, a game of high-low was in progress. Gamblers fled from the shop into the bushes and rice field nearby, but 23 of them were caught - 18 women and five men aged from 30-60 years. Some gambling equipment and betting stakes were seized as evidence.
All those arrested underwent a temperature check and a urine test. None were found to be feverish. Only one tested positive for drugs.
Mr Narongsak said the raid was a response to the government's executive decree against crowds gathering, and imposition of a night curfew, aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus disease.
