Members of Parliament from Kisumu County want the national government to investigate claims that gambling machines were being smuggled into the country.

Speaking to the Nation on Thursday evening, Kisumu West MP Olago Oluoch, his Kisumu East counterpart Shabbil Shakir and MCAs James Were (Nyalenda B) and Gabriel Ochieng of Kondele, called for an investigation into how foreigners ship in coin-slot machines to run illegal gambling businesses in the country.

Hundreds of the electronic machines have reportedly been confiscated by police in Kisumu, Kisii, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Nyeri and Nakuru counties and several foreigners arrested while running the unregistered businesses and defrauding people especially in slum areas of their hard earned money.

Mr Oluoch, whose constituency is the most affected by the gambling craze, said the local security agencies are working hard to confiscate the machines, but questioned how they were brought to the country.

“And the Chinese are now changing tact by installing the machines in private homes where young people flock to bet and the owner earns some discount. These foreigners are now a security threat,” said Mr Oluoch.

Mr Shabbir said: “We want to know the procedure taken at the customs to admit the machine into the country. They end up in our slums and impoverish our people further, which is very sad.”

Mr Were said some of those who run the gambling business have no work permits.

“This means the machines are being sneaked into the country,” he said.

Regional Assistant Director for Immigration Peter Karoki said the foreigners, mostly of Chinese origin, come into the country as tourists but that it was unclear how they smuggle in the machines.

“Our concern as a department is to deal with the immigrants. But it should be interrogated how foreign cars and the gambling machines get into the country. It is the work of the customs office,” said Mr Karoki.

Kisumu county commissioner Mohamed Maalim said they have been forced to heighten the crackdown on the illegal betting establishments.

So far, 14 foreigners have been arrested with over 500 coin-slot-lottery machines nabbed in Kisumu alone.

The leaders said it was difficult to arrest the foreigners since they employ locals to run the business, only collecting money at convenient times.