More
than a decade worth of confiscated gambling devices are being shipped
off-island. After years of sitting in a warehouse, a court order has
prompted the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency to ensure the
destruction of more than 1,000 games of chance. The luck of more than
200 slot machines ran out today as officers loaded the devices on a
pickup truck for disposal.
Customs Lieutenant Gerard Aflague
says under Guam law, there is a strict prohibition of importing
gambling devices or games of chance. Lt. Aflague says hundreds of
machines deemed illegal at the island's ports of entry have been locked
up in a container at the Department of Public Works. With a court order
mandating the destruction of the items, Customs officers began the
process today but there are hundreds more still left to be demolished.
"The
reason why we waited this long is because we wanted to ensure that
there's a method to dispose of it in an environmentally sound manner so
we're taking these items, destroying them and turning them into scrap
and exporting them back out of Guam," said Aflague.
He also said
says the agency has confiscated approximately 1,000 machines over the
years, some delivered in parts through air cargo but many brought in at
the Port Authority of Guam. "We want to let the general public know
that there are consequences for knowingly importing gambling devices
both civil and criminal," he said.
Customs officials warn local
business owners to contact the agency or the Department of Revenue
& Taxation before attempting to bring any gambling machines to the
island. Otherwise if they are deemed illegal, the games will be
confiscated, demolished and turned into scrap metal.
kuam.com (Guam)
