KUALA LUMPUR: The police arrested 29,834 people in 20,718 anti-gambling raids last year, says Bukit Aman.

       Most of these raids were on premises conducting illegal lotteries, said CID Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies Division (D7) principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali at a press conference at Pulapol Kuala Lumpur on Monday (April 18).

       "In total, we seized RM8,997,253 last year.

       "Compared to the RM9,201,631 seized in 2020, which also saw 15,958 raids, there is a drop but investigations and analysis show that this is due to the current trend of online gambling where bettors transfer money directly to the syndicates.

       "The syndicates continue to take advantage of (gamblers) for their benefit and our operations against them continued regardless of the pandemic," he said.

       Demand and the convenience of technology led to these syndicates being able to continue their illicit business for a time, he said.

       New modus operandi of gambling syndicates were also detected by the D7, he added.

       "On April 16, we busted a gambling centre hidden in an office unit in Subang Jaya.

       "They hoped that the company logo outside would disguise their operations but through our investigations, we managed to uncover their mini casino.

       "The raid led to 15 arrests of suspects aged between 20 and 40. They had been operating for only a month and could make around RM3,000 to RM5,000 profit a day," he said.

       SAC Mohamad Noor also urged those who would be making their special Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal not to waste their money by gambling it away.