Chiang Mai: Twelve people were arrested when police raided a luxury home which they said was home to two gambling websites with 100 million baht in monthly turnover, in Mae Rim district yesterday.

Police were acting on a tip-off that a gambling operator had rented a pool villa at the Summit Green Valley housing estate in tambon Mae Sa to serve as the headquarters for the business, said Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Police, armed with a search warrant issued by the Chiang Mai provincial court, found the interior of the home had been modified into a two-room office space.

In the first room, they found six people replying to messages sent by customers who placed bets on the website hengclub.win.

In the second room, six more administrators were doing the same with customers of kapaotang.com, he said.

The 12 men and women were arrested. Seized were 12 computers, 33 monitors, five laptop computers, 53 mobile phones, 28 bank account passbooks, 28 ATM cards and a closed-circuit TV server.

During questioning, the suspects told police they merely worked as administrators of the websites.

The arresting team initially charged them for colluding in running an online gambling site without permission before handing them over to Mae Rim police for legal proceedings.

According to the investigation, the websites had a monthly turnover of about 100 million baht.

Authorities say they are extending the investigation to bring the mastermind and others involved to justice.