St Joseph bars ordered to pay $1.89M in gaming taxes after inspections

A joint police and tax enforcement exercise in the St Joseph district has uncovered nearly $1.9 million in unpaid gaming taxes after checks at several licensed premises on Thursday.

Between 2.30 pm and 7 pm, officers inspected five establishments and found multiple breaches of licensing conditions and the Gambling Act, including the illegal possession of gaming machines.

According to police, one establishment was ordered to pay $156,000 for six wall machines and one roulette device, while another was assessed $192,000 for 12 wall machines and one roulette device.

A third business was ordered to pay $48,000 for 13 wall machines, while a fourth, operating under a Members Club Licence, was ordered to pay $336,000 for nine wall machines and one roulette device.

The fifth premises, licensed as a recreational club, was issued a notice to pay $1,128,000 for 42 wall machines and one roulette device.

In total, the outstanding taxes to be paid amount to $1,890,000.

The exercise was led by ACP Singh, Snr Supt Gift, and Supt Jaggernauth, under the supervision of ASP Bharath and Ag Sgt Baksh.

It involved officers of the St Joseph Police Station, the North Central Division Task Force (West), and three Criminal Tax Investigators from the Ministry of Finance’s Board of Inland Revenue section.