Police and KAS detain 58 people, seize 287 illegal gambling machines in Polish raids
Officers from 15 tax-customs offices and police from Łódź hit 51 gambling venues, mostly in Łódź province, and seven people face organized crime charges.
Operation across Poland and Łódź
Officers of the Customs and Fiscal Service (Służba Celno-Skarbowa) of the Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (KAS), working with police from Łódź, ran a coordinated operation involving 15 tax-customs offices. The action rested on an order from the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź and earlier operational findings, and it was coordinated by the Ministry of Finance's Department for Combating Crime. Searches covered several dozen premises, mainly in Łódź province, and 51 venues where illegal games were run were shut down. Prosecutors list locations including Łódź, Łowicz, Skierniewice, Brzeziny, Ozorków, Konstantynów Łódzki, Zgierz, Włocławek and Sochaczew.
Detentions and charges
At the 51 points, 58 people aged 19 to 72 were detained, and all were charged with fiscal offences linked to organizing illegal gambling on machines. Prosecutor Krzysztof Kopania, spokesman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Łódź, said on Thursday that seven people had been charged with membership of an organized criminal group and running illegal games. Nine people aged 23 to 65 were detained a few days earlier, and the seven charged include five women and two men.
- Seven people charged in an earlier phase of the case
- Nine people aged 23 to 65 detained
- Prosecutor Kopania announces seven charges and five custody orders
Accounts of custody differ. Prosecutors say the court placed five suspects in temporary arrest, while several other reports gave four people held for two to three months, with three placed under police supervision. Kopania put it directly:
The court applied temporary arrest to five of the suspects.
Two people were also held on suspicion of drug dealing and possession. A 19-year-old wanted under a warrant was among those detained, police spokeswoman Edyta Machnik said:
Among those detained was also a 19-year-old, for whom a wanted notice was issued.
Seizures and penalties
Officers secured 287 illegal gambling machines, computer equipment, data carriers, narcotic substances and over 598,000 zł. Express Ilustrowany gave 49 as the number detained at the 51 points, while its headline and most other reports gave 58. KAS spokeswoman st. asp. Justyna Pasieczyńska said:
As a result of joint actions, 287 illegal gambling machines, computer equipment and data carriers, as well as narcotic substances, were secured.
The services cite an administrative fine of up to 100,000 zł per machine, and up to three years in prison for organizing games. According to the prosecutor's statement, participation in an organized criminal group carries up to eight years.
Investigation continues
In April 2026 seven other people were charged in the same case, one of them running illegal gambling and another carrying out robberies against people at machine venues. Prosecutor Kopania described the latest detentions as another stage of an investigation into an organized group that has been active for several years. He said the investigation is still developing. Prosecutors do not rule out further detentions.
