Police in Guangdong's Jieyang city busted a major cross-border soccer betting syndicate, detaining 48 suspects and freezing gambling money valued at more than 45 million RMB (6.45 million USD) in a special operation simultaneously launched in five Guangdong cities earlier this month.
A suspect in front of the bank cards and mobile phones seized by the police. (Photo provided to GDToday)
According to a statement released by Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security on December 11, 2022, the police seized 146 computers including portables and tablets, 561 bank cards, 211 mobile phones, 8 POS machines and other betting equipment. A large number of account books, receipts and cash valued at 923,100 RMB were also found on site. Further investigation is underway.
The operation was launched in five Guangdong cities, namely Jieyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Shanwei on December 6, 2022, and effectively reined in the expansion of domestic online gambling events during the ongoing Qatar World Cup, the statement said.
The raid's success came after three months of investigation and collection of evidence. According to the police, the syndicate is family-based, led by a man surnamed Zhuo and his wife, with dozens of their relatives and friends as the core members.
The gambling gang employed web developers to set up a gambling website, and lured customers to open gambling accounts through advertisements on multiple sports live streaming platforms.
Records of soccer bets on a suspect's phone. (Photo provided to GDToday)
The month-long World Cup is usually the peak period for illegal soccer bets. The police alert soccer fans to online soccer gambling of all kinds, and call for the public to raise awareness of privacy protection. It is advised that citizens neither click or log in to gambling websites, nor believe in the blandishments and gimmicks of gambling software and websites.
Author | Lydia Liu, Riz Zhang (intern)
Editor | Wing, Nan, Monica, Jerry
