KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested three men suspected of being bookies for the Euro 2024 football championship.
The three were picked up in two separate raids around Cheras In an operation codenamed Op Soga X.
Cheras police chief Assistant Commissioner Ravindar Singh Sarban Singh said the operation began at 11.50pm yesterday and ended at 1.20am this morning.
"It was conducted by a team from the city police Anti-Vice, Gaming and Secret Societies Division (D7) of the Criminal Investigation Department, together with the Cheras D7.
"The raids were carried out at two locations, namely Jalan Lima Chan Sow Lin and Jalan Jejaka 7, Cheras."
In the first raid, said Ravindar, police arrested a 34-year-old foreign man and seized his mobile phone.
"In the second raid, we arrested two local men aged 40 and 44 and seized two mobile phones belonging to the suspects," he said.
He said initial police investigations found that the three acted as bookies for the ongoing Euro 2024 and they had been operating independently to avoid detection by the authorities.
"They used online gambling applications and opened bets to any interested parties.
"Checks on the suspects' mobile phones also revealed football betting applications and chat histories regarding match betting."
Ravindar said the foreigner who was arrested has been remanded for four days until Friday while the other two have been released on bail.
He added that investigations into the case were being conducted under Section 6(3) of the Betting Act.
He also advised the public not to engage in any illegal gambling activities and urged anyone with information regarding such activities to report to the police.
Information can be relayed by contacting the Cheras police hotline at 03-92845050/ 5051, the city police hotline at 03-21159999, or any nearby police station.