Vietnamese man jailed for role in Dubai gambling den

One of more than 35 men arrested by police during a raid on a gambling den in Bur Dubai has been sentenced to three months in prison.

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DUBAI // One of more than 35 men arrested by police during a raid on a gambling den in Bur Dubai has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Officers burst into the villa in Satwa at about 3am on November 8 last year to find the men gathered in two rooms.

One of the men, BH, 23, from Vietnam, told prosecutors that two of his compatriots were using two of the villa's eight rooms to run a gambling centre.

He said the two would bring gambling paraphernalia with them and charge Dh30 for entry. He said a popular game involved four groups of eight people.

According to prosecution records each person in a group would pay Dh5 for one game, and the winning group would receive Dh300, with the rest of the money going to the two men in charge. He told prosecutors he would help collect money from the customers, but received no pay in return.

In court, the man denied aiding and abetting the men to run a gambling centre and also denied a charge of gambling. However he was convicted of both charges and will be deported following the completion of his prison term.