Takoradi, Dec 15, GNA- Twenty illegal lotto operators, popularly called "banker to banker" were on Monday fined a total of 20 million cedis by a Takoradi district magistrate's court for operating illegal lottery. They all pleaded guilty.

The court issued a bench warrant for the arrest of four others who failed to appear before it.

Police Inspector Gabriel Kobla Agbemavah told the court that a combined team of police and personnel of the Department of National Lotteries (DNL) arrested the accused persons within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis on Saturday.

He said the accused persons were using numbers drawn by the Department of National Lotteries for their operations.

Inspector Agbemavah said an amount of 1.3 million cedis was retrieved from the accused persons when they were arrested.