BURSTTwo people from the Lower Mainland are facing charges for allegedly keeping an illegal gaming house, police say.
Burnaby resident Shahrouz Younesi, 54, and Vancouver resident Xiaoyi “Karen” Zhang, 46, are each facing a charge of keeping a common gaming house, contrary to section 201(1) of the Criminal Code.
Younesi is also charged with the sale of unstamped tobacco products.
The charges were approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service on Aug. 26.
They’re both expected to appear in court at a later date.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit’s joint illegal gaming investigation team first started investigating an illegal gaming site in March 2023, police announced in a news release Thursday (Sept. 3). It “quickly evolved into investigations of multiple gaming houses.”
Police say that during the course of the investigation, there were multiple searches at properties in Burnaby and Vancouver.
Investigators seized: approximately 145 kilograms of illegal tobacco, approximately $240,000 in Canadian currency, gaming tables and equipment and multiple electronic devices, including cell phones, tablets, laptops and digital video recorders.
Police say that all illicit gaming proceeds and equipment were forfeited to the province.