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The immigration department in Kuala Lumpur has busted an online gambling syndicate operated by foreign nationals after finding that it was operating from rented apartments and small shop lots in the Bukit Bintang area. The raid, which began at 10:30 pm on Monday, targeted areas spread out in Jalan Alor, Jalan Changkat, and Jalan Bedara, as part of a month-long sting operation. The Special Tactical Team (PASTAK) of the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Immigration Department led the raid, working in collaboration with other staff to bring down the ring. The whole operation had been deliberately concealed to evade the detection of enforcement agents, but tips and groundwork finally blew the whole thing wide open.
A Scheme Built on Small Stakes and Big Promises
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban explained the operation’s basic pitch; it dangled small entry fees ranging from RM50 to RM500 per person in front of foreign nationals, sweetening the deal by promising hefty returns in quick timeframes. The places ran like clockwork seven days a week, with peak hours hitting hard late at night when the operation buzzed until the early morning hours. What made this slick was how it handled its own security, tapping foreign nationals as guards they called “captains” who stood watch at entry points. The gatekeepers weren’t just filtering out random people; they conducted facial recognition checks on all those who tried to enter, as if they were in some exclusive club. Their overdependence on biometric screenings also revealed just how fearful they were of blowing their covers or allowing undercover agents inside.
Operation and Arrests Paint Wider Picture
During the raids, officers screened a total of 31 foreign men and two local men hanging around the premises. After sorting through everyone, immigration brought in 19 people for violation of their status. This consisted of 12 Bangladeshi nationals, four nationals of Myanmar, and three Indonesians, with their ages ranging between 21 and 50 years. They were all charged under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63, with allegations of not having valid travel documents and overstaying. Apart from the arrest, two local males and a local female were summoned to appear at the immigration offices to facilitate the investigation process. Officers also confiscated a bunch of equipment they found on site: 59 tablets of different makes, three monitors, three CCTV decoders, and one WiFi-enabled CCTV unit, all part of the gambling operation’s technical backbone
Concealment Strategy and Enforcement Push
The way this gang operated showed real effort to blend in and avoid trouble. They deliberately chose ordinary rental houses and small commercial spaces instead of flashy locations, keeping everything low-profile while still running a full-blown betting exchange for foreign customers. The immigration authority top brass, through Zakaria, made it clear that they will not back down. The department reiterated its continued crusade against anyone who breaks immigration laws, passport laws, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act. Twenty-five members of the force from different levels were tapped for this one operation, which is a manifestation of the manpower strength required to dismantle these operations. Foreigners are running the show in this syndicate, which targets other foreigners as well, making it a problem of both immigration and public order. The entire operation is a manifestation of Malaysia’s tough stand against illegal gambling rings operating under the radar in the city.
Source: Yahoo News
