Updated: 07/10/2014 21:48 | By Channel NewsAsia
S$2.8m seized from football betting syndicates: police
SINGAPORE: 15 people have been arrested in the latest island-wide sting against illegal bookmaking. They are believed to have taken football bets amounting to S$880,000 in the past three weeks of the World Cup tournament.
Police said in a news release that at about 4am on Thursday (July 10), officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Police Intelligence Department raided places such as Tampines, Bukit Batok, Aljunied and Bedok.
They seized S$860,000 as well as betting records, computers and laptops. The suspects include 12 men and three women, aged between 26 and 61.
They face up to five years' jail and a fine of up to S$200,000 if found guilty of illegal bookmaking.
"This is the fourth in a series of operations which the police had conducted as part of our continuous efforts to clamp down hard and fast on illegal soccer betting," said Superintendent of Police Lawrence Eng, also the head of the Specialised Criminal Branch of CID.
"From these operations, police have arrested a total of 56 suspects and seized cash of about S$2.8 million. Bookmakers who assume that they can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to commit criminal offences would face the full extent of the law upon their arrest." - CNA/ly
