Thousands arrested in crackdown on gambling
Source: Agencies |
01:42 UTC+8 July 17, 2010
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MORE than 5,000 people have been arrested in a swoop on illegal gambling on World Cup soccer across Asia and police have seized nearly US$10 million, Interpol said yesterday.
The global police cooperation agency said raids on nearly 800 illegal gambling dens between June 11 and July 11 targeted illicit betting linked to organized crime in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China.
"As well as having clear connections to organized crime gangs, illegal soccer gambling is also linked with corruption, money laundering and prostitution," said Jean-Michel Louboutin, executive director of police services of Interpol.
The police operation was not about match-fixing, a spokeswoman for Interpol said. Illegal gambling dens, including some in Hong Kong and casino haven Macau -- both special administrative regions in China, had taken more than US$155 million in bets.
Police also seized cars, bank cards, computers and mobile phones during the raids, which were coordinated by Interpol's general secretariat headquarters in Lyon and its Bangkok Liaison office.
"The results we have seen are impressive, not only in the number of arrests and seizures made across the region in just one month, but in terms of the police cooperation which made this possible," Louboutin said.
The three operations carried out so far have led to nearly 7,000 arrests, the seizure of over US$26 million in cash and the closure of illegal gambling dens that handled more than US$2 billion worth of bets.
Gambling is banned on Chinese mainland, ensuring brisk trade for Macau in the country's south, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's largest gambling market.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong police said they had smashed a vast, cross-border bookmaking syndicate targeting the World Cup which had taken in around US$1 billion of illegal bets.
During that operation, 74 people were arrested in Hong Kong and 29 on the mainland.
The syndicate was the largest of its kind to be uncovered by police in Hong Kong and it is believed most of the bets were placed on soccer matches.
According to a July 8 statement on the website of China's Ministry of Public Security, police uncovered more than 900 cases of online World Cup gambling and detained or arrested more than 4,400 people. The total of seized and frozen funds added up to nearly 800 million yuan (US$118 million), the statement said.
Singapore police said they arrested 36 suspected gamblers and bookmakers last week, breaking up a S$1.5 million (US$1.1 million) illegal betting operation.
Thai police said they had arrested 1,782 suspects during the tournament. Cash worth 166,200 baht (US$5,180) was confiscated during raids and police found records of 3.6 million baht in betting transactions.
The global police cooperation agency said raids on nearly 800 illegal gambling dens between June 11 and July 11 targeted illicit betting linked to organized crime in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China.
"As well as having clear connections to organized crime gangs, illegal soccer gambling is also linked with corruption, money laundering and prostitution," said Jean-Michel Louboutin, executive director of police services of Interpol.
The police operation was not about match-fixing, a spokeswoman for Interpol said. Illegal gambling dens, including some in Hong Kong and casino haven Macau -- both special administrative regions in China, had taken more than US$155 million in bets.
Police also seized cars, bank cards, computers and mobile phones during the raids, which were coordinated by Interpol's general secretariat headquarters in Lyon and its Bangkok Liaison office.
"The results we have seen are impressive, not only in the number of arrests and seizures made across the region in just one month, but in terms of the police cooperation which made this possible," Louboutin said.
The three operations carried out so far have led to nearly 7,000 arrests, the seizure of over US$26 million in cash and the closure of illegal gambling dens that handled more than US$2 billion worth of bets.
Gambling is banned on Chinese mainland, ensuring brisk trade for Macau in the country's south, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's largest gambling market.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong police said they had smashed a vast, cross-border bookmaking syndicate targeting the World Cup which had taken in around US$1 billion of illegal bets.
During that operation, 74 people were arrested in Hong Kong and 29 on the mainland.
The syndicate was the largest of its kind to be uncovered by police in Hong Kong and it is believed most of the bets were placed on soccer matches.
According to a July 8 statement on the website of China's Ministry of Public Security, police uncovered more than 900 cases of online World Cup gambling and detained or arrested more than 4,400 people. The total of seized and frozen funds added up to nearly 800 million yuan (US$118 million), the statement said.
Singapore police said they arrested 36 suspected gamblers and bookmakers last week, breaking up a S$1.5 million (US$1.1 million) illegal betting operation.
Thai police said they had arrested 1,782 suspects during the tournament. Cash worth 166,200 baht (US$5,180) was confiscated during raids and police found records of 3.6 million baht in betting transactions.
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