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

Opinion

Editorial

Wheat price crash
20 May, 2024

Wheat price crash

WHAT the government has done to Punjab’s smallholder wheat growers by staying out of the market amid crashing...
Afghan corruption
20 May, 2024

Afghan corruption

AMONGST the reasons that the Afghan Taliban marched into Kabul in August 2021 without any resistance to speak of ...
Volleyball triumph
20 May, 2024

Volleyball triumph

IN the last week, while Pakistan’s cricket team savoured a come-from-behind T20 series victory against Ireland,...
Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.