Interpol's Operation SOGA VIII has led to thousands of raids and the arrest of around 1,400 suspects across Asia and Europe

Interpol's Operation SOGA VIII has led to thousands of raids and the stop of around 1,400 suspects crosswise Asia and Europe.

During the raids, authorities seized $7.9m in cash, and computers and nomadic phones connected to almost $465m in bets.

The operation, interconnected by Interpol's Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption units, with funding from the Asia-Pacific Expert Group on Organized Crime (APEG) and the Interpol Match-Fixing Task Force (IMFTF), took property crosswise 28 countries simultaneously.

Head of Hong Kong Police’s Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, and Chairman of Interpol's Asia-Pacific Expert Group on Organized Crime, Wong Wai, said: “Our collective have helped us forestall links betwixt betting syndicates and their illegal counterparts during Euro 2020. This, ultimately, led us to organised criminal offence groups playacting on a world-wide scurf and generating huge profits."

In Hong Kong, police force detained to a greater extent than 800 suspects, including the alleged bigwig of a triad-controlled bookmaking syndicate, and have seized $2.7m in cash; on spinning top of detaining records itemisation hundreds of millions inward bets; this procedure has been 1 of the most successful against illegal play inwards history.

While targetting organised crime groups looking to garner from illegal gambling and related money laundering activities, SOGA VIII received warm European participation, as fountainhead as from a mountain range of law of nature enforcement agencies.

Roberto Ribaudo, Director of Economic and Financial Crime Division at Interpol's National Central Bureau inwards Rome, said: “Italian authorities carried out a nationwide surgical process during Euro 2020, resulting inwards the inspection of 280 betting shops and €1.3m ($1.5m) inwards sanctions for illegal betting operations. Such international trading operations are tonality to the collective fight back against illegal betting, but also inwards developing national and international cooperation frameworks.”

SOGA operations resulted in to a greater extent than 19,100 arrests, seizures of o'er $63m in immediate payment and the law of closure of to a greater extent than 4,000 illegal play dens.