KOTA KINABALU: A China-based online gambling syndicate was busted by Sabah police with 23 Chinese nationals suspected of carrying out the activity arrested here on Sunday.
Sabah deputy police commissioner Datuk Zaini Jass said the suspects, aged between 20 and 30, were nabbed in raids from about 6.15pm at a condominium in Penampang, near here.
“Based on information and investigation, we raided a unit in the condominium and found six men engaged in the operation.
“We believe the house has become a call centre for the gambling activities and among the items seized were 25 laptops and 55 mobile phones,“ he told reporters, here today.
He said based on information from two suspects, two separate raids were conducted at two units in the condominium.
“Ten Chinese nationals were found lazing around the house and another seven comprising four men and three women also from China were found in another unit during the raids.
“Sixteen suspects held valid passports while the rest failed to show any documents,“ he added.
Investigations revealed that all of them had just arrived in Sabah earlier this month and were believed to have been engaged in the activity for the past few days.
Asked whether the case had anything to do with another case involving Chinese nationals who were arrested for carrying out a China-based online investment fraud syndicate, Zaini said the case was similar as it involved Chinese citizens and the seized items were identical.
“But we have experts to determine what activities they were doing and based on a number of things including the seized laptop, we believe they were conducting online gambling,“ he said.
He added that all of them had been remanded until Dec 12 and the case is being investigated under Section 4 (1) (c) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953. - Bernama
