Crime & Courts

Serdang police bust illegal gambling operation trying to make a comeback

SERDANG: Serdang police raided an illegal online gambling operation at Jalan Kenari 3 in Puchong Jaya yesterday and detained 11 people, including two caretakers.

The 6.50pm raid was conducted by a team from the district's Anti-Vice and Gambling division (D7) and Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) following a tip-off.

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Razali Abu Samah said MBSJ received the tip-off via email in the morning and decided to hold a joint operation with the police.

"Upon verifying the information, we carried out a joint raid, codenamed 'Ops JOL' on the premises and believed to have crippled this online syndicate's operation.

"Based on our preliminary investigations, this very premises had been raided in 2019 and shut down by the local council. We suspect they had moved to another location for a while before reopening at the same premises about a week ago," he told reporters at the scene last night.

Razali said the two caretakers, an Indonesian and a Myanmar and nine customers, all aged between 26 to 71 were busy gambling at the time of the raid.

Police also seized 19 computers and RM465 in cash.

"Investigations showed that the premises had only been operating from this premises about a week ago and was only open to regulars or familiar faces, from 10am to 8pm.

"According to the caretakers, they were promised RM1,000 monthly salary each. The daily income of the premises is said to be between RM3,000 to RM4,000 daily."

Razali said the syndicate was very discreet and would keep an eye out for authorities and their customers via a CCTV.

"From the exterior, there is nothing suspicious about the establishment but upon close attention, one could hear sound of the air conditioning noise coming from inside.

"Further checks led the team to a rear door and access into the premises," he added.

Razali said following the raid, police and MBSJ are now trying to locate the owner of the premises for questioning.

"These syndicates are very smart and they keep moving from place to another to avoid detection. But thankfully, through good cooperation and experience, we can quickly track down these syndicates, especially in the Serdang district".

He added that Serdang police vowed stern action against illegal gambling syndicate in the district.

"We are serious about it because gambling can lead to more serious crimes," Razali said.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 4 (1) (c) of the Open Gambling House Act 1953 and Section 6 (1) of the Open Gambling House Act 1953.

"Investigations are also carried out under the Regulation 16 (1) of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Regulations (Measures in Local Infected Areas) (Conditional Movement Control)," he said.

Most Popular
Related Article
Says Stories