Kota Kinabalu: City police have crippled an illegal 4-D lottery syndicate that collected bets of about RM87,000 per draw with the arrest of 12 people, including 10 women, believed to be locals, last Saturday.
City Police Chief, ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria said they believed the ringleader was among the suspects, aged in their 20s and 30s, who were apprehended at its counting centre in Lintas Square, Luyang.
“Based on information received, we raided the premises concerned and the suspects were caught red-handed counting the bets.
“Police also seized a total of 17 items such as four laptops, five monitors, five CPUs, three fax machines, 12 calculators, 30 pens, eight mousepads, 228 master sheets containing the betting numbers, two attendance books, six rolls of fax paper, seven keyboards, 16 cell phones, a printer and 12 diskettes,” he said in a press conference at the Karamunsing police station.
Based on initial investigation, Ahmad Sofi said the syndicate was believed to have operated in the rented premises for the past two to three months.
It is believed the syndicate ran the illegal 4-D operation within the city area but police are investigating if the syndicate also covered other districts.
He said all the suspects have been remanded for further investigation under Section 4A(a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953, which provides for a fine of between RM20,000 and RM200,000 or a jail term of up to five years, upon conviction.
In another case, police here seized six computers and arrested a caretaker and a customer for suspected involvement in cyber gambling during a raid at Sadong Jaya, here, on May 7.
Based on a public tip-off, Ahmad Sofi said police stormed the premises and arrested the two suspects and also confiscated RM35.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953 (Amended 2001).
Meanwhile, a total of 18 gaming machines and five computers were seized in a police raid on a premises in the Inanam Business Centre on Apr 19.
Ahmad Sofi said police stormed the premises and detained six men players and one caretaker, in their 20s and 30s, believed involved in gambling activities.
Apart from the gambling machines, he said the team also seized other items such as RM89 and 12 chairs.
He said the suspects are being investigated under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953.
RelatedPosts
