VietNamNet Bridge – More than 30 policemen in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Chanh District, dressed only in shorts, swam across a river on Saturday night to bust a women’s-only casino built on the water.

The casino, organized by Nguyen Thi Nua, has been operating since December between the hours of 1 p.m. and 5 a.m.

She profited VND50,000 to VND100,000 for each game and paid a couple between VND100,000 to VND200,000 (US$5 to US$10) a day to watch out for police.

The unique thing about this casino was that only women were granted admission. The only male gamblers were Nua’s friends.

Local police attempted to raid and demolish the betting house numerous times, but each time they broke in, the hut was found empty.

“After we received a lot of local complaints, we decided to bust this casino,” said Captain Nguyen Cong Dinh of the Binh Chanh police. “Through our investigation, we knew it was a professional casino for women with a careful sentry.”

The casino was a 16 to 20 square meter hut near the Can Giuoc riverside. It sat next to another hut with hammocks for gamblers to rest and eat.

There was only one path to enter the casino, which required passing a rock bridge where a guard was posted.

Women could easily enter the casino but when unknown men approached, guards signaled with flashlights and the gamblers would flee.

Binh Chanh police decided it was best to move in through the waterway and Dinh was in charge of coordinating the operation.

On Saturday at 7 p.m., more than 30 police were deployed to bust the casino. They used two boats; one to transport the officers and one to carry life jackets and flashlights in case gamblers jumped in the river police could throw life jackets to prevent them from drowning.

When the team was about to set off, it began to rain heavily. However, Dinh decided to proceed with the plan because the rain could easily distract the gamblers.

When the boats were 100 meters from the casino, the team was ordered to turn off the engine. The 30 police officers were then told to take off their clothes, keeping only their shorts on, to swim across the river. The tide was high and the police had to cling to coconut trees to approach the casino without making any noise, said Sub-Lieutenant Dao Thanh Lam.

When they were 20 meters away from the target, Dinh climbed up and hid behind a coconut tree. When all of his men arrived they broke into the hut, sending those inside into confusion.

Twenty-one gamblers were quickly detained.

Only one jumped in the river, but was caught by the police and escorted to the station with the others.

Police also captured professional gambler Tran Thi Anh Dao, who had been previously jailed for two years and was on the local police’s wanted list for illegal gambling.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre