BRIT BINGO PLAYERS RELEASED BY TURKS

26 December 2008

But it's a costly business....

 

Turkish police arrested 15 Brit tourists playing bingo in a bar in Altinkum, a popular tourist destination, after breaking up a charity game of bingo reports the UK newspaper The Daily Mail. The police treated the incident as illegal gambling,

Of the 15, nine were released without charge after a few hours in detention, but it proved to be an expensive night for the six main culprits, who were required to pay fines of GBP 55 each before being allowed to return to their hotels.

Apparently police were tipped off by locals that the bingo game was in progress, triggering the raid.

The owners of the bar also face the loss of business over a key period, as the police closed the establishment and ordered that it remain so for several days.

Tourists were unhappy with the police action, pointing out that the game was a charity event raising money for the medical expenses of a sixty-year-old British woman recovering from cancer.

From Burnley in the UK, the woman was diagnosed with cancer several weeks ago, had an operation in Turkey and is now facing the prospect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The raid was the second police anti-gambling action in Altinkum in the past 15 months - seven British tourists were fined for playing a game in September last year.