Police raid illegal casino hidden under shopping mall where 'world's saddest gorilla' lives

Police raided an illegal casino hidden under a shopping mall car park in Thailand.

Officers converged on the building of the Pata Department Store - home to the world's saddest gorilla Bua Noi - in Bangkok and found an unauthorised gambling den on July 2.

Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) Inspector-General Ronnarong Thipsiri led a special operations unit to search a snooker hall in the parking area, where a hidden VIP section for gambling was discovered.

He said: 'There had been a complaint that an online gambling den was operating illegally, so I reported it to my superiors. The Minister of the Interior ordered the special operations unit of the Department of Provincial Administration to join Bang Yi Khan Police Station to inspect it.

'It was found that this den had been opened on the second floor of the parking building of the Pata shopping mall about three to four months ago. When we came to inspect, we found that it had been moved to the lower floor, using the snooker hall as a front. But there was a separate room for the den.'

Sixteen computers used to play online baccarat and two fishing game machines were at the scene.

Cops found 22 people - mostly middle-aged men and women - in the casino.

An employee, Sunita Karunwong, 26, allegedly admitted to being responsible for arcade top-ups.

An inspection of the den found two safes, and a room with tinted windows with nothing illegal inside.

Officers also found an official identification card for a police officer named Police Sub-Lieutenant Wichit Samutjaimanee of Bang Yi Khan Police Station attached to a shirt hanging on the wall.

Police Colonel Payap Somboon, superintendent of Bang Yi Khan Police Station, said an investigation was launched to determine if cops were involved in the gambling operation.

He said: 'We will conduct an investigation, and the officer in question will have to explain how his ID card ended up in that locked room.

'We will assess the situation based on the facts and will not make any exceptions or provide assistance. Any punishment will be based on disciplinary and criminal offences as per regulations.

'As for the gamblers and the caretaker, the inquiry officer will pursue further legal action.'

Local media reported that the police chief, and four other cops, were reassigned to the Metropolitan Police Division 7 during the investigations.

Animal rights activists have been campaigning for more than 10 years to have Bua Noi the gorilla released from her squalid enclosure at the Pata shopping mall.