Police bust KL-based online casino syndicate (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have busted a local online casino that has been raking in over RM3.3 million in profits every month with the arrest of five men.
The illegal online racket was busted when police raided its 'customer service department' which operated at an apartment on Jalan Kelang Lama on Friday. Five men aged between 22 and 28 were arrested in the raid.
The centre had sent out hundreds of thousand text messages to cellphone users to promote its website for over a year.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim today said that the suspects were behind the text messages sent to random phone numbers in Malaysia and China to promote their gambling activities, through the use of a GSM SMS blaster device.
He said the device is capable of sending out thousands of messages simultaneously to handphone users.
"They had turned the rented apartment into their office and ‘promotion centre’ for about a year,” Mazlan said.
“Investigations show that they had over 20,000 clients and received over RM120,000 daily from them. The cash is transacted via wire or bank transfers and this is why we found no money at the place."
Mazlan said the 'customer service' staff were tasked with managing potential clients who would respond to the text messages sent out by the syndicate.
He said the suspects guided their clients on how to deposit cash to purchase credits to play over 10 casino games on the website.
"Their clients were Malaysians and Chinese nationals,” Mazlan said. “They used both local and Chinese bank accounts to receive payments and also used the same method to pay out winnings.
“Once the payment is received from a client, a gambling account is activated for them to start engaging in the casino games. We are also looking for the operator of the website and are investigating how the syndicate had obtained the data of telephone numbers in their possession."
He said the raid was carried out by a police team from the city's anti-gambling unit following a public tip-off.
Apart from the SMS blaster device, the raiding party also seized computers, portable computers, modems and other equipment.