More than $5,000 in fines after RCMP bust maskless gamblers at Surrey business

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – “Do not roll the dice and turn your health into a game of chance,” Surrey Mounties warn, after they handed out more than a dozen tickets to a group of people gambling at a business in Whalley.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, members of the COVID-19 Compliance and Enforcement Team showed up to a store on 105A Ave. near 135 St., which was closed to the public at the time.

As they knocked on the front door, they noticed people leaving out the back door.

Once inside, Surrey RCMP Sgt. Elenor Sturko says Mounties found 13 people who were playing cards without masks. They were each given a $230 fine for “attending a non-compliant event.” The host was given a $2,300 ticket for hosting the gathering, which goes against COVID-19 public health orders.

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“We are not bluffing when we say we intend to enforce the public health orders,” Sturko said.