Recently, the Hongjiang Public Security Bureau in Huaihua City, China, successfully cracked a cross-border online gambling case involving the Philippines and Cambodia, achieving a "comprehensive" breakthrough and "full chain" crackdown on the gambling group both domestically and abroad.
After several rounds of concentrated operations, the overseas "financiers", executives, and operational teams were apprehended, and domestic network access, server provision, and promotion agencies were all dismantled.
As of August 2024, 56 suspects have been arrested in this case, with 16 already prosecuted, involving a total amount of over one hundred million yuan.
In late August 2023, following a public report claiming his wife had gambled away all their savings on an online gambling platform called "Lisboa Online Entertainment", money he had earned from selling fruits at a stall.
The gambling platform offered a variety of games including Baccarat, Mark Six, sports competitions, etc., and allowed deposits through WeChat, Alipay, bank cards, QQ, and cryptocurrencies, with profits being withdrawn directly via bank cards, unrestricted by geography or time, accessible anytime, anywhere with a smartphone.
After months of meticulous investigation, a criminal gang using the overseas gambling platform to lure gamblers and profit from them gradually emerged.
The gang had a clear division of labor and a hierarchical structure, operating in a four-tier pyramid scheme from "person in charge—supervisor—team leader—team member", with the special task force successfully pinpointing the core members and some sub-agents spread across various provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions nationwide, fully deploying their investigative efforts.
Due to the novel nature of the crime, its severe implications, and the complexity of the case involving many suspects and large amounts of money, the case has attracted high attention from the Ministry of Public Security, provincial and municipal public security bureaus. The main leaders of the Huaihua City Public Security Bureau instructed to intensify the handling of the case, promptly wrap up the operations, and strive for the greatest results. On June 25, 2024, the case was approved for supervision by the Ministry of Public Security.
Through meticulous investigation and extensive efforts, the task force discovered that the gang was based in Las Piñas City, Philippines, operating "Lisboa Online Entertainment" and "Crown" among other betting outlets, with internal departments like finance, customer service, promotion, and HR, each performing their duties, recruiting platform promotion agents from within the country to attract gamblers, and then transferring gambling funds abroad through domestic runners, involving a large number of participants and huge amounts of money, making evidence collection extremely challenging.
With guidance and support from the city bureau's public security and internet technology squads, the task force clarified the criminal gang's organizational structure, financial network, and technical support, thoroughly tracing the origins and efficiently collecting evidence, laying a solid foundation for the arrest operations.
Considering the large time span, wide geographical involvement, and numerous suspects in the case, the Hongjiang District Public Security Bureau meticulously devised an arrest plan, drawing over 30 police officers to form arrest teams. Under the guidance and support of the city bureau's relevant squads, the arrest teams simultaneously headed to Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan to carry out the arrests, successfully capturing the gambling platform's mastermind Ke Moumou and other suspects involved in operating gambling dens, including Ou Moumou, arresting 56 individuals, and seizing 26 mobile phones and 6 computers on the spot.
After multiple rounds of operations, the overseas "financiers", executives, and operational teams were all apprehended, and domestic network access, server provision, and promotion agencies were completely dismantled.
The case successfully captured the overseas gang led by the gambling platform boss Ke Moumou, effectively striking a blow against the arrogance of cross-border gambling crimes.
