Macau (MNA) – The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) indicated that a total of 16 individuals were arrested in a large operation against illegal betting in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, for possible involvement in an illegal gambling ring in Macau targeting gamblers in Mainland China.
In a release, the international police organisation indicated that between June 22 and July 16, thousands of raids were conducted and suspects arrested in an INTERPOL-led operation against illegal gambling conducted throughout Asia during the football competition held in Russia.
The 16 arrested people connected to the Macau illegal gambling ring were arrested both in Macau and Hong Kong, following raids at residential buildings and casinos, and police seized vehicles, cash, computers, mobile phones and accounting books.
Operation SOGA VII (short for soccer gambling) performed 14,900 raids at illegal gambling dens in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, which were estimated to have handled some US$1.6 billion (MOP12.9 billion) worth of bets.
The operation was coordinated by INTERPOL’s Organized and Emerging Crime Directorate, and made 242 arrests in Hong Kong alone.
“With the Hong Kong Police Force alone seizing betting slips worth US$16.8 million, Operation SOGA VII owes its success largely to the power of global and regional police cooperation through INTERPOL,” said Chief Superintendent Tat-Shing Man of Hong Kong’s Organized Crime and Triad Bureau.
The operations chief also added that the participating jurisdictions used the experience collected in six previous SOGA operations to anticipate links between Asian betting syndicates and their illegal counterparts operating beyond Asia’s borders during the World Cup.
INTERPOL’s Director of Organized and Emerging Crime, Paul Stanfield, also stated that illegal gambling generates huge profits for organized criminal networks, which are often linked to more serious crimes, with the operation signaling a shift in focus to online gambling.
“Such online platforms have brought an international dimension to the phenomenon and are often located in jurisdictions with few regulations on sports betting, presenting additional challenges for police. A coordinated international response is necessary to tackle this type of crime, especially as it moves from gambling dens to Internet-based illegal betting operations,” said Mr Stanfield.
To date, the combined seven SOGA operations have resulted in more than 30,000 arrests, the seizure of some US$57 million in cash and the closure of more than 3,700 illegal gambling dens which handled almost US$8 billion worth of bets.