Joint action nabs gambling suspects in South China

Guangdong police detained 48 suspected gamblers after busting a major cross-border online gambling case in cooperation with their Hong Kong counterparts in a special operation launched on Sunday.

Police seized cash valued at more than 7 million yuan ($1.08 million) and froze another 21 million yuan worth of bank accounts used for online gambling, according to a statement released by the Guangdong provincial department of public security on Monday.

A large number of computers, mobile phones, bank cards and related equipment for online gambling also were seized in the operation, the statement said.

Meanwhile, police in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region detained another 23 suspects in a similar operation simultaneously launched in Hong Kong, the statement said.

Hong Kong police seized cash valued at more than HK$2.6 million ($335,483) and froze bank accounts used for online gambling with a total balance of more than HK$100 million.

Guangdong police immediately established a special task force when they received reports in April from locals that a suspected criminal gang headed by Hong Kong residents was active in organizing online gambling in Dongguan, a Pearl River delta city bordering both Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, and the Shenzhen special economic zone.

After eight months of investigation and exchanges of information between police in Guangdong and Hong Kong, special operations were launched at the same time to bust the secret gambling dens in both Guangdong and Hong Kong.

A criminal gang that used to be active in organizing online gambling in the southern Chinese region was believed to have been busted following the crackdown, a senior police officer from Guangdong provincial department of public security said.

The officer promised Guangdong would further expand their cooperation with Hong Kong counterparts in fighting against cross-border crimes in the coming months to ensure a safe and secure environment for construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.