Police personnel conducting checks in the house.
SAC Denis Leong
KUCHING: A two-storey terrace house in a luxury housing area at Batu Kawah New Township (MJC) here was raided after it was suspected to be used as a “reload centre” for online gambling activities.
Sarawak Criminal Investigation Department head SAC Denis Leong said the raid was conducted following intelligence gathered under ‘Ops Dadu’ as well as the initiative of Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Azman Yusof, who is committed to eradicating gambling activities in the state.
According to Leong, 13 individuals aged between 20 and 30 years old were arrested during the operation, which consisted of five locals and eight foreigners.
“The 9.30am raid today led to the arrest of 13 people who were operating the online gambling reload centre.
“Preliminary checks revealed that their monthly transactions totalled over RM1 million,” he told reporters.
Leong added that among the modus operandi (MO) used by this group was to offer gambling activities through the WhatsApp chat application and other social media networks.
“They (suspect) will include a link and those who intend to gamble will only have to click on the link provided. All the transactions will be conducted online.”
It is believed that the online gambling reload centre has been operating for at least two months.
All the suspects were brought to the state police headquarters for further action under Section 4B (a) of the Common Gaming House Act and Section 4(1)(c) and (d) of the Betting Act.