MIRI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - It was a case of "from the frying pan and into the fire" when a group of gamblers jumped into a crocodile-infested river in an attempt to flee a police raid.

In the incident that happened in Bako town in southern Sarawak on Wednesday (Jan 25), police ended up having to rescue the seven gamblers from their ill-conceived escape bid.

The suspects were gambling behind a shop when the police swooped down on them, according to Sarawak CID Chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Dev Kumar.

"They made a desperate bid to escape, with some of them jumping into the fast-flowing Bako River behind the shop," he said.

"The river is infested with crocodiles - they were lucky they survived. We fished them out of the water using a sampan (boat).

"We will charge them with illegal gambling," he told The Star on Thursday.

Bako is located about an hour's drive from the state capital of Kuching.

The raid was part of Sarawak police's ongoing statewide crackdown on gambling, which have led to 43 raids and 112 arrests so far, said SAC Dev.

"About 105 gambling machines and RM44,460 (S$14,230) have been seized," he added.