THE Immigration Department has arrested of 15 people in a series of raids across the Klang Valley, in connection with an online gambling ring.

Immigration Department director-general Ruslin Jusoh said 15 people were arrested in the raids carried out on Tuesday and yesterday, 14 of which are foreign nationals.

He said they raided a snooker hall in Selangor at 10pm on Tuesday, which used a secret room for gambling, and arrested three Indonesians and a Bangladeshi, the latter believed to be the leader of the ring.

Also arrested were two Indonesian women aged 25 and 40, who operated the gambling machines at the premises and did not have valid documents, and a 40-year-old local man believed to be the supervisor and caretaker of the premises.

“Customers must have a password set by the gang to enter the secret room,” Ruslin said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He said officers then raided several other premises in Kuala Lumpur and arrested six Bangladeshi men, a Nepali man and an Indonesian woman.

According to Ruslin, the 40-year-old Bangladeshi is married to a local woman and owns a company providing cleaning services.

He said they also seized 46 computers, 37 passports and RM114,450 in cash.

“Based on the amount of cash seized, we believe this gang is capable of raking in profits of between RM1.3 million and RM1.5 million a year,” he said.

Ruslin said all 14 foreigners detained would be investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963, while the local man has been remanded for three days to assist in the investigation. – Bernama, March 30, 2023.