P

olice in Aceh arrested nine alleged gamblers — including two village heads and a village official — at a food stall in Blang Raya village in Lhokseumawe, on Saturday.

Comr. Ahzan, coordinator of Lhokseumawe Police’s so-called star team, said the arrests were based on reports from nearby residents, who claimed the food stall had doubled as a gambling den.

“The team [approached carefully] to prevent its arrival from being noticed by the gamblers,” Ahzan said, as quoted by kompas.com.

The two village heads were identified as MH, 40, from Kuta Makmur district in North Aceh and SA, 34, from West Baktiya district, also in North Aceh. An administrative official from a village in Kuta Makmur identified as DA, 34, was also arrested.

“We confiscated seven boxes of domino cards, two decks of playing cards and cash worth Rp 11.8 million [US$887.35],” Ahzan said, adding that police had also seized personal belongings, which included six wallets, six cellular phones and four motorbikes.

Ahzan said the suspects had been taken to the Lhokseumawe Police precinct for further investigation.

Gambling is prohibited under Aceh’s Islamic law, with violators sentenced to public caning as punishment.