KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5: An illegal soccer betting ring which had been raking in more that 5.2 million ringgit ($1.41 million) each month has been smashed by Malaysian police.

Two bookmakers were arrested in a raid last week and computers, telephones and betting slips confiscated, state news agency Bernama reported.

“During the raid the two suspects were busy dealing with their punters and were stunned after seeing our team,” Bernama quoted Kuala Lumpur Deputy CID Chief Ramli Din as saying.

He added that police believe the syndicate had been operating for the last five years and had frequently changed its location.

“The syndicate had been collecting bets from punters nationwide, with some of the stakes amounting to 440,000 ringgit per match. We believe there are other members of the same syndicate who had gone into hiding after the bust,” Ramli said.

All transactions were handled through the internet and e-mails and the syndicate had been collecting bets for matches normally played on Saturdays and Sundays involving the English Premier League and European Champions League teams.—Reuters