KUALA LUMPUR: A call centre for an international online gambling syndicate was busted by police after a raid which saw 92 foreigners detained.
City police chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said on Monday, police raided its “customer service department or call centre department” which operated at an office building in Bukit Bintang at 1.30am.
“The raid was jointly conducted by the city Anti-Vice, Gaming and Gangsterism Crime Investigation Division and Bukit Aman’s IT forensic Unit,“ he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters today.
“A total of 83 China national men, seven China national women and two Myanmar national men, aged between 17 and 49, were arrested.”
Mazlan said 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 WeChat app.
“They have been renting the premises for about two months at a cost of RM30,000 a month.”
Police are looking for more suspects to facilitate investigations.
The suspects guided their clients on how to deposit cash to purchase credits to play 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.”
The raiding party seized 212 computers, 20 portable computers, seven modems and other equipment worth RM430,000.
The case is being investigated under Section 4 (1) (c) of the Betting Act 1953.
