KUCHING : The state Criminal Investigations Department (CID) uncovered an online gambling transaction centre at Jalan Stampin at 3pm on Thursday.
State CID Chief, SAC Dato’ Dev Kumar said three men and three women aged between 16 and 37 were arrested at the centre.
The 16-year-old was a Form 4 drop-out. All those arrested are believed to be local agents employed by a West Malaysian online gambling syndicate.
According to Dev, 14 mobile phones, three computers, record sheets and various Wi-Fi peripherals were seized during the raid. All the suspects have been remanded in police custody. The case is being investigated under section 4 (1) of the Betting Act 1953.
Dev added: “Facing the heat from the police, cyber gambling operators are now operating clandestinely and changing the way of doing business to evade authorities.
“Apart from providing reload services to gamblers in convenience stores, the more established operators are operating behind the scenes by providing end to end online services to gamblers within a cash market.
“For example, a gambler will get the number of an agent through WeChat, Facebook, SMS or through other ads. The gambler will then contact the agent and is given a login ID and password to access the online gambling website or app using his mobile device.
“The gambler is also given a bank account number to deposit money either through CDM or online transfer. After the gambler furnishes proof of the deposit to the agent, the agent will enter the credit into the gambler’s online gambling account.
“The gambler can begin placing bets until his credit runs out. If he wins, the agent will credit the winnings into his account. During this end to end transaction, the gambler does not come face to face with the agent and does not know who he/she is.”
Dev added that on September 16 last year, the state CID uncovered the first online gambling transaction centre in Satok here.
In the raid, seven agents, aged between 17 and 30, were arrested while eight computers and 18 mobile phones seized.
He added that the one of the goals of the state police was to wipe out online gambling in Sarawak. “It is a monumental task but we are prepared to face the challenge,” said Dev.
