Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said police had recently detected this new tactic.

He said these operators would enter coffee shops as customers and then use mobile devices to run their gambling activities.

“They are doing this as they have realised that if they rent premises, we would cut off their electricity,” he said after officiating the disposal of gambling-related items by the KL police at the Alam Damai police station in Cheras here.

He said using coffee shops made it easier for them to flee if there was a police raid.

Mazlan said 51 illegal gambling premises recently had their electricity supply cut off while another 24 premises would also be subjected to similar measures in the near future.

“We are identifying the owners of the premises who rented their shops for gambling activities and owners of the business licences who abused them for gambling activities. They will face action,” he said.