Targeting suspected links between illegal gambling and organised crime, coordinated raids across South Yorkshire have resulted in further arrests and thousands of pounds being seized.

Three people have been arrested and tens of thousands of pounds seized following coordinated raids on the latest suspected illegal gambling dens in Sheffield and Doncaster.

The enforcement action, carried out on 5 August as part of South Yorkshire Police’s Operation Duxford, involved officers working alongside the Gambling Commission, Trading Standards and other partner agencies. Reports last week confirmed that one person was arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, another on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and a third for alleged gambling offences. 

The latest information released reported that a raid on a premises on London Road in Sheffield, officers discovered substantial amounts of cash secured in safes alongside gaming tables and machines. Money was also recovered from inside the machines, which were seized as part of the ongoing investigation.

Chief Superintendent Jamie Henderson warned that illegal gambling premises can have links to wider organised criminality, including money laundering, drugs and immigration offences.

“Illegal gambling is not a victimless crime,” he commented. “We know illegal gambling dens have exploitation, violence and entrenched organised crime.”

Authorities also highlighted the risk of “debt bondage”, where vulnerable gamblers accumulate debts they are unable to repay and can subsequently be pressured into criminal activity.

“We’ve found considerable sums of cash which had been locked in safes,” added Chief Inspector John Mallows. “The gambling machines themselves were also full of money, which obviously people have been actively using.”