Johor cops bust online gambling call centre, arrest seven suspects
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JOHOR BARU: Johor police have busted an online gambling call centre believed to have raked in about RM2.4mil over the last four months since it became active.
State police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said police raided an apartment in Southkey here at around 10.15pm on Thursday (Sept 23).
“During the raid, we arrested seven suspects, including one female, between the ages of 18 and 34 years. They were employed as operators.
“Checks found that the apartment unit had been turned into a call centre, offering online gambling to locals,” he told a press conference at state police headquarters here on Monday (Sept 27).
Comm Ayob added that the syndicate serviced about 7,000 gamblers and collected between RM15,000 and RM20,000 a day ever since it started operating in June.
He said the suspects who were arrested would liaise with gamblers, promoting gambling websites and getting them to top up their credit.
“All transactions were done through online banking from several local accounts that we have identified,” he said, adding that the suspects were paid RM2,000 per month with a 1% commission.
Comm Ayob Khan said police also seized six computers, 35 mobile phones, telecommunications equipment and keys during the raid.
He added that police were investigating the case under Section 4(1)(G) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
Comm Ayob Khan said that between Aug 1 and Saturday (Sept 25), state police had carried out five raids against online gambling here and in Iskandar Puteri.
“During the same period, we also arrested 28 local suspects including eight females, who are mostly youths, working at these call centres,” he added.
He said five investigation papers have been opened and would be completed soon, at which time they will be referred to prosecutors for further action.
