Thailand’s police and military are under fire after raids on illegal gambling dens exposed connections between officers and operators.

On Monday, police raided an underground casino in Chalong district on the island of Phuket after receiving a tipoff from neighbors that gambling activities – including slot machines and a three-dice game called ‘High-Low’ – were going on daily in a private house.

The neighbors told police that the operators were conducting their activities “with no apparent fear of the law.” The reason for that lack of fear became evident after police raided the house. Of the estimated 100 people at the facility at the time of the raid, around 40 were subsequently arrested, including a number of government officers.

On Thursday, the Phuket News reported that one of the Royal Thai Navy officers who’d led the raid had accused an Army colonel of ordering him to call off the dogs. Col Sompop Kamkana said that one of the women he’d arrested handed him her phone, saying there was someone who wanted to talk to him.