NLA, police arrest 32 illegal lotto operators

They have been placed in custody at the Sekondi Central Prisons and would be arraigned.

The swoop, which led to their arrest, was undertaken jointly by the Takoradi Rapid Deployment Force of the Ghana Police Service and the National Lottery Authority (NLA) offices in Sekondi,Takoradi and Kwesimintsim.

Lieutenant-Colonel Dzotefe Mensah (retd), Security Manager of the NLA, read a statement on behalf of Brigadier-General Martin Ahiaglo, acting Director-General of the Authority, to confirm the arrest to the media in Takoradi.

The statement said those arrested had contravened the National Lotto Act 23006, (Act 722), which makes illegal lotto operations a criminal offence under the law.

It said the law mandated only the NLA to operate lottery in the country; therefore any person or group of persons who operated lottery had committed a criminal offence.

Th statement said upon conviction, the offender was liable to a fine,or a custodian sentence or both.

It cautioned the public to desist from staking lotto from illegal lotto operators, since those who staked illegal lotto, as well as the operators, faced various jail terms when convicted.

The statement also warned landlords and homeowners who rented their houses to illegal lotto operators to desist from that as they would have their properties confiscated to the state and made to pay fines as well.

It entreated the public to stake lotto at approved NLA kiosks, since proceeds from the lottery were used to provide various social amenities, including hospitals, schools, boreholes, standpipes and many others to the benefit of the entire society.

The statement charged lotto stakers to insist on their receipts after staking lotto with the NLA, since the authority had furnished its kiosks with portable data processing machines that issued receipts to their clients to ensure transparency and accountability.