Police dismantle a sophisticated online betting ring hiding behind registered companies, seizing RM27 million in World Cup wagers and arresting 161 suspects.
SUBANG JAYA: Police have busted a locally controlled online gambling syndicate operating behind several registered companies, arresting 161 people during raids on 19 premises and residences across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Criminal Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk M. Kumar said preliminary investigations indicated that the companies, despite operating under different names, were linked to a single syndicate.
“Normally, the arrests we make involve individuals or small groups. This case involved companies that were registered and operating like legitimate businesses, with their own employees.
“However, the actual operation behind these companies was online gambling,” he told reporters at a press conference at the Subang Jaya district police headquarters today.
The raids, conducted from 2.30pm on July 16 until 3am the following day, targeted individuals and companies promoting and accepting bets on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside other online gambling activities.
Those arrested comprised 106 men and 55 women aged between 19 and 62.
Of the total, 155 were Malaysians and six were foreigners, some of whom were believed to have been employed by the companies.
Five local men aged between 34 and 45, believed to be company directors or shareholders, were among those detained.
Kumar said police believed those arrested included the syndicate’s operators and masterminds.
“Although the companies had different names, based on our preliminary investigations, we believe they were part of the same syndicate,” he said.
He said the syndicate was not solely focused on World Cup betting but also offered roulette and other forms of online gambling.
“It was an open market involving our neighbouring countries, but the credit facilities and betting operations were controlled by a local syndicate,” he said.
Police estimated that betting transactions linked to the raids amounted to RM27,377,443.66.
Items seized included 182 notebook computers, 137 laptops, 152 mobile phones, 19 modems, 16 routers, four decoders, four bank cards, 12 hard drives, 11 access cards and 65 company documents.
The raids formed part of the nationwide Op Soga XI, conducted from June 11 to July 20 to combat illegal football betting and online gambling during the World Cup.
A total of 649 raids were carried out nationwide, resulting in the arrests of 945 suspects comprising 835 men and 110 women. Of those arrested, 680 were Malaysians and 265 were foreigners.
Police also seized RM199,006.19 in cash and detected betting transactions valued at RM35,148,815.88 throughout the operation.
Kumar said police had worked closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to monitor gambling promotions on websites and social media platforms, including Facebook and TikTok.
“Some have already been taken down. Through this collaboration, we are also conducting further investigations to identify the owners of these pages,” he said.
Police and the MCMC detected 637 websites, applications, platforms and social media accounts promoting football betting and other gambling activities.
Some had already been removed, while the remainder were being processed for blocking and further enforcement action.
Fourteen investigation papers were opened — five in Kuala Lumpur and nine in Selangor — under the Betting Act 1953, the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, and Section 120B of the Penal Code for criminal conspiracy.
