Police arrest 282 in nationwide crackdown on online gambling and illegal lotteries

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Police arrested 282 people and seized RM32,149 in cash during a nationwide crackdown on online gambling and unlicensed lottery operations involving 201 business premises over the weekend.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar said the two-day operation, dubbed Ops Dadu Khas, was conducted from October 31 to November 1 across the country, including Sabah and Sarawak.

He said 201 raids were carried out, comprising 108 premises linked to online gambling activities and 93 involving unlicensed public lottery operations.

“The 282 individuals arrested were aged between 20 and 65, comprising 229 men and 53 women.

“Of these, 223 were Malaysians while the remaining 59 were foreign nationals from Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, who had been employed by local syndicates,” he said at a press conference at Menara 2 Bukit Aman here.

Kumar said the police also seized various equipment and electronic devices believed to have been used in the illegal gambling operations, including tablets, mobile phones and mobile printers.

He said all those arrested had been remanded for between one and four days to assist investigations and help identify the masterminds behind the activities.

Kumar said preliminary investigations had identified several syndicates operating under names including Winbox and Alibaba, with police working to identify their leaders.

He added that investigations would also be conducted under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), as offences under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 could serve as predicate offences for money laundering investigations.

Kumar said the police would also recommend that electricity supplies to all 201 premises be disconnected after investigations were completed, in accordance with Section 21A of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.

He said the syndicates often moved between premises to evade detection, using business establishments such as cafes, beverage outlets and sundry shops as fronts for their online gambling operations.

“They may operate at location A today, close it tomorrow and move to location B. This is because their operations are conducted online, with transactions also carried out online, allowing them to operate from virtually anywhere,” he said.

Kumar said the police had been conducting intelligence-gathering operations to identify the premises involved and would recommend enforcement action to the relevant local authorities once sufficient evidence had been gathered.

Those arrested are being investigated under various provisions of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, including Sections 4A(a), 4B(a) and 4(1)(c), as well as Sections 6(1)(c) and 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

He said the police would continue intensifying enforcement against all forms of unlicensed gambling, with cooperation from local authorities and other relevant agencies.

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吉隆坡，11月2日讯——警方周末在全国范围内开展打击网络赌博和无牌彩票活动的行动，逮捕了282人，并缴获了32149令吉现金，此次行动涉及201家商业场所。

武吉阿曼刑事调查部主任拿督M. Kumar表示，这项名为“特别行动”（Ops Dadu Khas）的为期两天的行动于10月31日至11月1日在全国范围内展开，包括沙巴和砂拉越。

他表示，共进行了 201 次突击检查，其中包括 108 个与网络赌博活动有关的场所和 93 个涉及无证公共彩票运营的场所。

“被捕的 282 人年龄在 20 岁至 65 岁之间，其中男性 229 人，女性 53 人。

“其中，223人是马来西亚人，其余59人是来自印度尼西亚、缅甸、尼泊尔和孟加拉国的外国公民，他们受雇于当地的犯罪集团，”他在武吉阿曼大厦2号举行的新闻发布会上说。

库马尔表示，警方还查获了据信用于非法赌博活动的各种设备和电子设备，包括平板电脑、手机和移动打印机。

他说，所有被捕者已被还押一至四天，以协助调查并帮助查明幕后主使。

库马尔表示，初步调查已发现多个犯罪团伙以 Winbox 和 Alibaba 等名称运作，警方正在努力查明其头目。

他还补充说，还将根据 2001 年《反洗钱、反恐怖主义融资和非法活动收益法》（AMLA）进行调查，因为 1953 年《公共赌博场所法》规定的罪行可以作为洗钱调查的前提罪行。

库马尔表示，根据 1953 年《公共赌博场所法》第 21A 条的规定，警方将在调查结束后建议切断所有 201 个场所的电力供应。

他说，这些犯罪团伙经常在不同场所之间转移以逃避侦查，利用咖啡馆、饮料店和杂货店等商业场所作为其在线赌博活动的掩护。

他说：“他们今天可能在A地营业，明天就关门，然后搬到B地。这是因为他们的运营和交易都是在线进行的，这使得他们几乎可以在任何地方开展业务。”

库马尔表示，警方一直在进行情报收集行动，以确定涉案场所，一旦收集到足够的证据，将建议相关地方当局采取执法行动。

被捕者正在根据 1953 年《公共赌博场所法》的各项条款接受调查，包括第 4A(a) 条、第 4B(a) 条和第 4(1)(c) 条，以及 1959/63 年《移民法》的第 6(1)(c) 条和第 15(1)(c) 条。

他表示，警方将继续加大力度打击一切形式的非法赌博活动，并与地方当局和其他相关机构合作。

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