The 2022 FIFA World Cup has come to an end. During the tournament, Guangdong police have busted multiple illegal soccer betting syndicates.
The recent operations were launched by the police of Guangdong's Zhongshan city earlier this month, arresting 167 suspects in three cities, detaining 87 suspects on criminal charges and stopping payments of more than 10 million RMB (over 1.4 million USD).
Police arrests a suspect. (Photo provided to GDToday)
According to a statement released by Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security on December 17, 400 police officers went to three Guangdong cities including Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Jiangmen in the first operation on December 8, after three weeks of investigation and evidence collection. 116 suspects were arrested, among which 51 were detained on criminal charges, and payments from 1,489 bank accounts were stopped.
Based on the evidence found in the raid, police launched the second operation on December 15, arresting 51 suspects including 36 detained on criminal charges, and seizing on site a number of bank cards, mobile phones, computers and account books. Further investigation is underway, the statement said.
According to the police, the syndicate obtained proxy accounts from an overseas gambling website, set up online casinos through group chats on social media platforms, and then lured their customers to bet on the results of Qatar World Cup games. The gang profited from commission.
Gambling gang busted in Guangdong’s Shantou
Police in Guangdong’s Shantou also busted a cross-border soccer betting syndicate on December 14, arresting 13 suspects, freezing 256 bank accounts and seizing a number of materials used in gambling, a statement released by Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security on December 18 said. The amount of money involved in the case reached 23.82 million RMB (over 3.4 million USD).
The police seized a suspect and the gambling materials. (Photo provided to GDToday)
The statement noted that Guangdong police will continue their operations against cross-border online gambling, curbing the spread of gambling crimes in domestic cyberspace. The police encourage the public to call 110 to report gambling crimes.
Author | Lydia Liu
Editor | Steven, Abby
