COPS CRIPPLE GAMBLING SYNDICATE
Online gambling and international football betting syndicate had China clients
AN online gambling and international football betting syndicate with clients in China ran out of luck when it was busted in a raid in Balakong, near here, yesterday. The raid was carried out at the syndicate’s operations centre at Dataran C180, near here by the Selangor D7 (Gambling/Vice/Secret Societies) and Kajang Criminal Investigation Department in a joint operation, after a week of intelligence gathering.
Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate emulated the Macau Scam model to cover their operations from being detected by police in China.
Selangor D7 staff officer Deputy Superintendent Norhizam Bahaman said during the raid, they arrested six China nationals, three men and three women who worked as caretakers and bet takers at the centre.
“They took bets from gamblers in China before placing a wager on their behalf on every English Premier League game,” he said, adding that the bets raked in and those wagered ran into hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
“In fact, the syndicate was also involved in managing bets for horse races, as well as online gambling,” he said at the scene of the raid.
He added that the bets received from punters in China would be deposited into a bank account belonging to the syndicate in China, while members of the syndicate’s local operations would place the wager on behalf of the punters.
“By making Malaysia the wagering centre, it would be tough for the police in China to track down the activities of the syndicate,” he said.
During the raid, the Selangor D7 also seized 13 laptops, eight mobile phones and four modems.
The case is being investigated under Section 6 (3) of the Betting Act 1953 and Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act.