BANGKOK — Interpol says a crackdown on Asian gambling dens and websites during football’s European Championship led to more than 4,100 people arrested and $13.6 million seized.
Police raided nearly 4,000 illegal dens across Asia and Europe, including in China, Singapore, France, and Italy.
Two operations co-ordinated in Thailand targeted organized crime networks and transnational networks in Asia "behind illicit websites and call-centre type operations running online scams," Interpol says.
Three Thai offices of illegal online gambling sites were shut down, and 15 people were arrested in Malaysia linked to payment card fraud.
Interpol’s head of anti-corruption and financial crimes unit, Jim Anderson, says "illegal gambling generates massive profits for organized crime networks which are often linked to corruption, human trafficking, and money laundering."