JOHOR BARU: The police have arrested 51 bookies and seized about RM19.5mil worth of bets in connection with betting on the UEFA European Championship 2020 matches in 40 raids under Ops Soga VIII.

       Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the raids were conducted between June 10 and 26 in housing areas across the state, with the majority of them in the Johor Baru South area.

       “We seized RM19,449,438 worth of bets and all the suspects were betting on Euro 2020 football matches through a web address hosted outside the country.

       “The suspects consisted of master agents and agents; the master agents would have a credit limit of RM1mil and recruit agents.

       “The agents would then look for gamblers through WeChat, WhatsApp and Telegram,” he said at a conference at the Johor police headquarters here yesterday.

       Pricey haul: Comm Ayob Khan (right) with state Criminal Investigation Depart-ment chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Md Yusof Ahmad showing the seized items at the Johor police headquarters. — Bernama

       He said that unlike pre-pandemic times when syndicates worked out of a centre or premises, they now operated at homes using phones and placing bets online.

       Comm Ayob Khan said the 51 suspects arrested were local men aged between 18 and 54 and they were recruited through social media.

       He also said the police had confiscated 71 mobile phones, two computers, four laptops, three calculators, two routers, two printers, 67 SIM cards, a match schedule, 15 betting records, a modem and RM35,112 in cash.