30 Brits quizzed for 4 hours as 12 cops swoop
on bingo after barmy 2-wk stake-out
Swoop ... Marianne Pittaway and Antonio Cardoso, centre, with regulars from The Yorkshire Tavern pub
SOLARPIX.COM
COPS arrested a bar full of Brits — for playing bingo.
Around 30 holidaymakers and expats were quizzed through the night for breaking Portugal’s strict gambling laws — even though the first prize was only a tin of biscuits and a bar of chocolate.
Many of the Brits were due in court this morning.
Police pounced — after staking out The Yorkshire Tavern in Albufeira for WEEKS — as organisers handed out the prize.
Landlady Marianne Pittaway, 34, said: “They rounded us up like a bunch of gangsters.”
Bar ... Marianne Pittaway and Antonio Cardoso
SOLARPIX.COM
First two plain-clothed officers INFILTRATED the pub.
They POSED as customers to mingle with the suspects — holidaymakers and expats aged from 23 to 76.
Finally they WAITED for the handing out of illicit prizes — a tin of biscuits and a chocolate bar.
The two detectives then flashed police badges and used radios to call in a dozen uniformed officers.
The Brits were ushered on minibuses and taken to a station to be quizzed for FOUR HOURS. Even those not playing bingo were arrested for “observing a crime”.
Pub landlady Marianne Pittaway, 34, said: “They rounded us all up like a bunch of gangsters at about 11pm. It was 3am by the time they let us all go.”
Half a dozen of those arrested on Friday have returned to the UK. The remainder were due in court at 9am today for further questioning in front of a judge.
They could face fines of between £1,300 and £8,500 under strict gambling laws which mean organisers of bingo or raffle nights have to apply for a one-off government licence.
Expat ... Yorkshire Tavern
SOLARPIX.COM
Marianne, who runs the pub with her Portuguese partner Antonio Cardoso, 47, explained: “I thought bingo was only illegal if cash prizes were being handed out. We were just giving away a few little prizes for fun.
“We took about 50 euros from customers to cover the cost of prizes. We didn’t make any profit.
“It was only the third week. I recognised the plain-clothed cops from the first two weeks. They must have been staking the place out ready for the big sting.”
Antonio added: “Why didn’t they just have a quiet word first?”
The biscuits and chocolate were won by 74-year-old Gerald Platt, from Bicester, Oxfordshire. He said: “I put them on the floor and was going for the full house when the microphone went quiet and plain-clothes police started going from table to table.
“One officer asked me to write out my name on the back of my bingo card. He put that and the pen in a plastic bag, sealed it up and took it away as evidence.” He said the police confiscated the biscuits — but he managed to hide the chocolate.
Gerald went on: “I shared that round on a bus on the way to the station. Some people didn’t want any because they were worried about eating the evidence.”
Police also took as evidence the remaining prizes, the bingo machine, cards and pens plus a microphone and speakers.
Raid ... cop
Alamy
Marianne — who is from York and has a ten-year-old daughter — said: “One couple from Wigan were only in the bar to watch a rugby league match. They were arrested for observing a crime.”
Expat Linda Royle, 56, who moved from Salford, Gtr Manchester, 13 years ago, said: “We were in that police station for hours. Nobody was allowed to leave until everybody had been dealt with.
“My husband wasn’t even playing bingo, he was just watching the telly. Now we’ve got to appear in court like dangerous criminals.”
Holidaymaker Maggie Williams, 63, from Manchester, said: “I couldn’t believe I was arrested for playing bingo. I’ve only ever got a parking ticket before.”
Fellow tourist Gail Johnson, 45, a carer from York, said: “I was just sat with my friends having a natter. Police have told me they are going to get in contact with British police so I can face my punishment at home.
“It’s scary. I don’t want to be a criminal — especially over something as trivial as bingo.”
Expat and former publican Cheryl Thompson, 63, joked: “I’ve thrown thousands of bingo games over the years, and they’ve never been that exciting.”
Last night police in Albufeira refused to comment.
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