Immigration Department Raids Foreign-Run Online Gambling Syndicate in Bukit Bintang

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — An online gambling syndicate run by foreign nationals and operating out of rented homes and small business premises around the capital was raided on Monday, according to Sinar Harian. The raid, which began at 10.30 pm yesterday was carried out around Bukit Bintang, covering Jalan Alor, Jalan Changkat and Jalan Bedara, by the Special Tactical Team (PASTAK) of the Intelligence and Special Operations Division at the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya, following a month-long intelligence operation. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the syndicate targeted foreign nationals as its main customers, using a modus operandi that involved offering small investment amounts of between RM50 and RM500 per individual, with promises of high returns in a short period. According to him, the premises were operating daily and were particularly active at night until the early hours of the morning. “The syndicate was found to practise strict security controls by appointing foreign nationals as guards or ‘captains’. “These guards would also conduct facial recognition as a form of customer screening before allowing entry,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian. Zakaria said the locations raided were believed to be the syndicate’s operational centres. He added that the operation involved checks on 31 foreign men and two local men. “Following inspections, 19 individuals — comprising 12 Bangladeshi men, four Myanmar men and three Indonesian men aged between 21 and 50 — were detained. “All those arrested are believed to have committed offences under Section 6(1)c and Section 15(1)c of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for failing to possess valid travel documents and overstaying in the country,” he said.