Updated: 05/19/2014 21:45 | By Channel NewsAsia
18 arrested in crackdown on illegal betting syndicate
SINGAPORE: Police have seized S$1.4 million in cash and arrested 18 suspects as they moved to cripple an illegal betting syndicate.
The suspects include six men and two women aged between 30 and 65. They were rounded up in an island-wide operation on Sunday and Monday.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted multiple raids in places like Bukit Panjang, Marsiling, Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands, Whampoa, Telok Blangah, Bedok and Sentosa.
They seized computers, handphones and documents such as betting records and bank transaction records.
The suspects are believed to have received illegal soccer bets amounting to an estimated S$8 million in the past two weeks alone, according to preliminary investigations.
The suspects could be jailed for up to five years, or fined up to S$200,000, if found guilty of involvement with bookmaking.
Those found guilty of placing bets with bookmakers face up to six months' jail and a maximum fine of S$5,000.
Head of the specialised crime branch of CID, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Kenny Tan, said: "Bookmakers and bettors who assume that they can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to commit criminal offences should think twice.
“The police will find them and prosecute both bookmakers and bettors alike to the fullest extent of the law." - CNA/ec
