Wth news of the Malaysian football online gambling busts (see previous Online Casino Guide reports) spreading across global mainstream media, further details of the police action have surfaced.
It appears that the police tip-off was originally that the raided premises were involved in drug activity, but that the police nevertheless scored a major anti-crime victory due to the diverse criminal activity, which included internet-based fraud scams, taking place around the complex, .
One police spokesman has since estimated that, based on seized records, the criminal enterprise generated revenues in excess of US$1.3 billion in just over a month of operation.
The ring operated from several luxury bungalows in an upscale gated community “home to several ministers and former cabinet members,” The Star newspaper reported. The bungalows had closed-circuit video systems for security and suspects were equipped with 241 mobile phones and 43 computers, the New Straits Times said.
It now appears that the number of those held by police is 144.