Malaysian police breaks betting operation

Kuala Lumpur:

Malaysian police have broken up a syndicate that had been taking bets of up to 10 million ringgit (dlrs 2.63 million) daily on World Cup soccer matches, officers said Friday. A police team arrested 17 people at an office in the southern city of Johor Baru as they were taking bets from across Malaysia and nearby Singapore late Wednesday, a police spokesman, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. Several computers, television sets and betting lists were confiscated, he said. Malaysian police have set up special teams to track illegal betting syndicates trying to cash in on the May 31-June 30 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Betting on soccer is outlawed in Malaysia, as in many other parts in Asia, but illegal betting on local soccer matches and the English Premier League have flourished over the years. Singapore, separated from Johor Baru by a narrow strip of water, allows betting only on domestic league games at government-controlled betting shops.