Auckland's laundromat

Casino drugs claim
An accused drug ring leader used Auckland's SkyCity casino as his office to plan P deals and enjoy a "high-roller" lifestyle, police say. The man is accused of being the central figure in a drug bust codenamed Operation Ice Age, and is on trial at the High Court at Auckland with four others on methamphetamine charges. Crown prosecutor Mina Wharepouri told the court that Tac Kin Voong spent most of his time at the SkyCity casino during the six months police had him under surveillance. Voong used the casino as an office from which he would make calls on his cellphone to obtain methamphetamine, arrange meetings for drug deals and organise payment, said Mr Wharepouri. He said that when arrested in his SkyCity hotel room, Voong had $11,000 bound in casino paper, a P pipe and a small amount of the drug. In an interview with police, Voong had denied being a drug dealer, but explained his apparent success as a gambler at the casino. He had said "he was so successful that he was able to employ other persons to play the slot machines on his behalf. And by using this approach he had won a number of jackpots," said Mr Wharepouri. "Consequently, he enjoyed a lifestyle much like that of a high roller."

Gambling is like smoking is like drinking – one of those nasty little habits that generate few social benefits and create a large amount of social cost and Government revenue, and just like smoking and drinking the Government don’t really bother policing gambling because who wants to hurt that Government revenue not to mention the slither that is handed out to desperately grateful sports and volunteers groups, so news that Sky City has been used as a laundromat for Auckland's crime synidicates to wash their cash legal shouldn't be ANY surprise to anyone. What should surprise people is how easy Sky City made that laundering, this isn't the Waitamata Trust we are talking about, it's gang cash getting washed clean through the Casino, shouldn't the Police be all over that rather than attempting to gain new search and survaillance powers in October which will allow the Pork Board to strip search you?