Yesterday, police raids took place in Kajang, to successfully close an illegal online gambling den, as well as a liquor kiosk which had been found to have been unlawfully selling alcohol beverages to local residents.
As revealed by Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof, who is a District OCPD Assistant Commissioner, at a press conference that took place on July 1st, the police had brought down a gambling syndicate after a raid was carried out in a Sungai Long-situated condominium on June 28th. The action ended up with the arrests of a total of 56 people who were suspected to be taking part in illegal gambling in Malaysia.
Asst Comm Yussof further shared that the suspects were found to be China nationals. They also failed to provide valid ID papers when required to do so by police officers. In addition, 45 mobile phones, 30 laptops and two modems were seized during the raid.
According to investigations, the illegal online gambling den had been operational for a couple of months. Preliminary expectations are that the daily bets placed in the online gambling operation could reach up to RM247,708. As shared by Asst Comm Yussof, the syndicate has been found to have conducted bets in Canada and Hong Kong.
The passports of the 56 suspects had been held by the venue’s manager who had excused this action with making working visas of the den’s employees. All suspects who were arrested during the police raid in Kajang have been taken to custody until July 2nd.
Government Agencies’ Corruption and Strong Punters’ Gambling Engagement Become a Problem
Lately, the authorities in Malaysia have been sharing their concern with illegal gambling operations across the country. Apart from the fact that there have been some unlawful gambling activities taking place in Malaysia, the involvement of some enforcement agencies in such activities has been another serious problem to deal with.
Corruption of Government agencies has been the most logical explanation for the fact that there have been some illegal gambling organizations which not only operate unrestrained in Malaysia but also hardly make any attempt to hide their actual activities from the Government.
The last few years have been crucial for illegal gambling operations in Malaysia because they have increasingly been digitalized. Despite that, traditional brick-and-mortar betting outlets are still among the most attractive options for making bets. What is actually worse, is the fact that local punters also do not seem worried by the possible negative consequences they could face by the prosecution for taking part in illegal gambling activities.
Anti-gambling campaigners have been calling the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Home Ministry to adopt a more innovative approach to prosecute such punters, as the efforts of the specialized task force aimed at dealing with illegal gambling in the country have been inefficient.
