Illegal World Cup betting rings busted

> Police freeze RM15m in wagers, arrest 589 bookies

KUALA LUMPUR: Since the World Cup kicked off last month, police were kept busy busting hundreds of illegal bookmaking syndicates nationwide.

Apart from arresting 589 bookies, including foreigners, in 499 raids conducted across the country since the tournament started on June 14, police also managed to block or freeze over RM15 million in wagers that were placed both online and through bookies via conventional betting.

Federal police CID director Comm Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd said yesterday in the operation named “Ops Soga” police also seized RM420,000, computer sets and cellphones from the suspects, who are aged between 20 and 45.

He said the syndicates carried out its activities using websites that were registered overseas, such as in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

In the latest bust on Tuesday, police traced a syndicate that had promoted itself by advertising its gambling services on social media.

The syndicate operated from luxury condominiums to evade detection but police managed to track them down at three locations here and in Johor.

Wan Ahmad said the syndicate had been operating since June 6 and had made a profit of over RM10 million from its 6,800 clients.

Five men and two women were arrested in the opeartion and RM22,000, computers and cellphones were seized.

About two-thirds of the 499 raids and half of those arrested were in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Those held are being investigated for accepting bets, bookmaking and running an illegal gambling operation under the Betting Act 1953.

Wan Ahmad said police viewed illegal gambling seriously and advised the public to refrain from getting involved with such syndicates.

To counter such activities, he urged the public to channel information on illegal bookmaking to the police.