Pickering gambling house raided

PICKERING -- A commercial property in Pickering was among four addresses raided by police as part of an investigation into illegal gambling in the GTA.

Durham police joined officers from Toronto’s organized crime unit and the OPP in the investigation, which identified four addresses at which cops allege illegal poker games were occurring. Police have charged 47 people and seized gambling equipment including gaming tables, chips, cards and other paraphernalia, as well as $12,000 in cash.

Nine people have been charged with keeping a common gaming house while 38 others, including two youths, are charged with being found in a gaming house.

Police busted 12 people when they executed a search warrant at the Pickering address and charged two -- D. Paul Pritchett, 35, and 34-year-old Tanya M. Lee, both of Ajax -- with keeping a gaming house.

Three of the gambling dens were in Toronto while the fourth was located in an industrial unit on Brock Road just north of Bayly Street, police said.