By Paul Nicholson
July 21 – Interpol are claiming a major success in the battle against illegal betting rings in Asia with a six-week World Cup operation carrying out more than 1,000 raids, 1,400 arrests and the seizure of $12 million.
The raids on the illegal gambling dens were carried out by law enforcement officers from from China, Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Interpol reckons that the illegal dens, operated by organised crime syndicates, were handling about $2.2 billion of bets during the World Cup.
The 2014 World Cup operation, codenamed Operation SOGA V – short for soccer gambling – was the fifth time Interpol had co-ordinated this kind of operation since 2007 and started June 1, running through to July 13.
As well as the arrests and money seizure, the operation impounded computers and mobile phones which are hoped will identify “the potential involvement of other individuals or gangs across the region and beyond,” said an Interpol statement.
“The results of this latest Operation SOGA are significant in relation to the volume of bets being handled by these illegal gambling dens, as well as the number of arrests,” said Jean-Michel Louboutin, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Police Services.
“Illegal gambling generates massive profits for organized crime networks which are often linked to corruption, human trafficking and money laundering, which is why a coordinated international response is required to tackle this type of crime.”
Interpol’s five SOGA operations to date have resulted in more than 8,400 arrests, the seizure of almost $40 million in cash and the closure of about 3,400 illegal gambling dens handling $5.7 billion worth of bets.
The importance of the success of SOGA in the wider social context should not be under-estimated. Organised crime networks behind the illegal gambling dens often channel their betting profits into other crimes including human and drugs trafficking. Interpol is keen to raise awareness of these hidden links as part of its Turn Back Crime campaign.
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