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Armed Razzia against poker clubs in Oslo

Poker Game. Painting: C. M. Coolidge

Armed sting against poker clubs in Oslo – five clubs closed

100 police officers on Thursday evening participated in an action against the poker community in downtown Oslo. Five clubs were closed immediately.

 

The police in Oslo have for a long time investigated clubs offering illegal gaming involving poker.

– We have surveillanced the activity over time and have collected much information on the clubs involved. It is not the gamblers who are the focal point of this sting, but those who arrange or participate in arranging illegal poker events.

– It’s the organized gambling that is targeted, says police attorney Philip Green to NTB.

The operation takes place in cooperation with the Norwegian Lottery Authority. the lottery legislation ban of organized money games is used against the clubs.

Links to known criminal gangs

– This criminality extends far beyond the violations of the lottery law, explains police inspector Tore Soldal, to Aftenposten, who first picked the case up.

The action is part of the Oslo police’s initiative to weaken the criminal gangs and the fringe societies, including the infamous “Young Guns” from the Holmlia district, police sources tells the newspaper.

– We see that criminal groups offer or force several clubs to pay protection money. Stig Vasbø,

Open 24/7

To NTB, the police are not willing to comment on which gangs are involved. Nor do they want to say anything about how many people that are arrested.

– We have clear and obvious information regarding these groupings, including from the Norwegian Lottery Authority. These clubs will now be investigated, so we’ll have to wait and see what the final outcome will be, Green says.

According to Aftenposten, several of the poker joints have at times been open 24/7. In addition to engaging in illegal gambling, they supposedly have served alcohol and food without the required food or beverage licenses to do so.

About the Young Guns (Wikipedia)

The Young Guns is a criminal group where most of the members come from Oslo. The gang is also known as a Pakistani brotherhood. Young Guns became known in connection with the Romsås murder in 1988, which is called “Norway’s first gang murder”. the gang got its name from the American action and western movie “Young Guns” (1988).

In the 1990s the gang was closely linked to the younger parts of the so called “A” gang. Shahid Rasool (who should not be confused with his younger namesake in the “B” gang supposedly was the leader of the Young Guns from 1989 to 1999.

When Rasool was imprisoned, Mohammad Akhtar Raja is seen as his proxy, although he himself denies having a role as a front figure in the Young Guns. Arfan Qadeer Bhatti, Arshad Mahmood, Mohammed «Jeddi» Javed and Alex Fuica are also mentioned as being leaders of the Young Guns.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today