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Thirty-two illegal lotto operators, including one female, have been arrested in Sekondi-Takoradi for engaging in lottery fraud. They have been placed in custody at the Sekondi Central Prisons, and would be arraigned before court for prosecution on Monday, January13. The swoop, leading to their arrest, was undertaken jointly by the Takoradi Rapid Deployment Force of the Ghana Police Service and the National Lottery Authority (NLA) at Sekondi,Takoradi and Kwesimintsim at the weekend. Lieutenant-Colonel (retired) Dzotefe Mensah, Security Manager of the NLA, read a statement on behalf of Brigadier-General Martin Ahiaglo, Acting Director-General of the Authority, to confirm the arrest to the Media in Takoradi. The statement said those arrested had contravened the National Lotto Act, Act 722 of 2006, which makes illegal lotto operations a criminal offence under the law. It said the law mandates only the NLA to operate lottery in the country, therefore any person or group of persons who operate lottery, commit a criminal offence. The statement said, upon conviction, the offender is liable to a fine, or given a custodian sentence or both. It cautioned the public to desist from staking lotto from illegal lotto operators, since those who stake illegal lotto, as well as the operators� face various jail terms when convicted. The statement also warned landlords and home-owners who rent their houses to illegal lotto operators that they would have their properties confiscated to the state and made to pay fines as well. It entreated the public to stake lotto at approved NLA kiosks, since proceeds from the lottery are used to undertake various social amenities, including hospitals, schools, boreholes, standpipes and many other infrastructural developments to the benefit of the entire society. The statement charged lotto stakers to insist on their receipts after staking lotto with the NLA, since the Authority had furnished its kiosks with portable data processing machines that issue receipts to their clients to ensure transparency and accountability.