POLICE announced the arrest of over 6,000 World Cup soccer gamblers and impounding of more than 28 million baht from 250 money routes, according to Komchadluek.net
Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Chalermkiat Srivorakarn announced yesterday at the Royal Thai Police headquarter that the recent police crackdown on current FIFA World Cup betting since the tournament started on June 14 has led to more than 6,500 offenders being apprehended.
Moreover from over 250 hosts/bankers, the police have impounded bank accounts with more than 28 million baht in total.
Police have worked closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to investigate all money routes. Some details of gamblers/betters revealed that bankers were operating in both conventional and online forms via websites hosted both in Thailand and foreign countries.
At the moment, police are collaborating with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), and the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) to investigate further the offenses committed via these websites.
Evidence has been collected from many websites and they have already been submitted for court order to shut them down.
The deputy national police chief also said that of all the prosecuted wrongdoers there were no government officers, celebrities, public figures or minors among them.
However, he admitted that minors under 18 years of age were found in many Internet/game shops in Northeastern part of Thailand and he has ordered a close surveillance of any suspicious activities in and out of game shops nationwide.
Any arrested offender who is found to be minor, the guardian or parent is to be arrested as well. Normally, the minors can go into these game shops and spend no longer than 3 hours at a time and they are forbidden from visiting such shops from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
CAPTON:
Top: Poker chips. Photo: Kumar Jhuremalani (CC-BY-2.0)
Top: Pol Gen Chalermkiat talking to the press. Photo: Komchadluek.net
By Piboon Awasdaruharote
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