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05 July 2012| last updated at 09:45AM

100 bookies nabbed over football bets

By LEE SHIAN

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KUALA LUMPUR: Two Singaporeans and an Indonesian were among 100 bookies from five syndicates arrested by police during a two-month nationwide operation against football betting.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin said Ops Soga was launched on May 1 as major football leagues across Europe reached their finales, including the UEFA Champions League.

He said police conducted 148 raids on various locations, mostly in residential areas, nationwide. Some of these raids were  unsuccessful but 61 yielded arrests and seizures," he said  in Bukit Aman yesterday.

"Police seized RM78,160 and paraphernalia used by the bookies, including computers, laptops, mobile phones and modems."

It is understood that the bookies accepted bets of up to RM50 million a day on the Euro 2012 Championships, which kicked off on June 8 and ended on Monday.

"The raids were conducted with the assistance of our counterparts in China, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, who provided information on the activities."

Of the 100 suspects arrested, comprising 83 men and 17 women, three were foreigners. One suspect was found to have a credit limit of RM9.7 million on his online bookmaking account.

"The operators of these Internet betting accounts are based abroad, as are the servers. Hence, the transnational cooperation between Malaysia and other countries."

Bakri revealed that those arrested would also be probed under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001. During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, police arrested 227 bookies.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin said one of the suspects was found to have a credit limit of RM9.7 million on his online bookmaking account.

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