Illegal football e-gambling ring broken in Athens: Greek police

Greek police announced on Monday the dismantlement of a criminal organization involved in illegal football e-gambling internationally during an operation conducted last week in Athens.

A total of 127 suspects - 126 of Asian origin and a Greek national - were arrested following investigations which lasted several months, Attica Prefecture Police chief Christos Papazafiris announced.

The Greek official did not refer to the exact origin of the Asian suspects, but according to police sources they are all from Chinese Taipei.

"For this case 127 ring members have been arrested, including 18 suspects who are believed to be leading members. They had established a 'business network' for illegal betting in luxury homes in Attica using modern electronic equipment to run their criminal activities at least since the year of 2014," Papazafiris said.

"By smashing this ring we have achieved one more significant blow against illegal gambling. We did it by breaking an international ring which was operating across several countries worldwide via the internet," the Greek officer stressed during a press briefing.

Papazafiris underlined that the success follows the recent participation of Greek police in an international operation held in Athens under the codename "SOGA VI" coordinated by Interpol during the Euro 2016. During that operation, 44 suspects were arrested by Greek police, the police chief noted.

Regarding the latest case, Greek Police spokeswoman Ioanna Rotziokou added that the Greek suspect who is a real estate agent had helped the Asian suspects set up the headquarters in five luxury homes rented in northern and southern Athens suburbs.

"During the raids conducted in the presence of a representative of Judicial Authorities, 151,000 euros, 6,000 U.S. dollars and 73,000 Chinese yuan were found and seized in the five houses. In addition police confiscated several laptops, walkie-talkie devices, tape recorders, modems and tablets," according to the spokeswoman.

Greek investigators believe that the suspects who were working in shifts under strict security measures were contacting clients, mainly in Asian countries, to receive bets on sports matches or on line casino-like games, Rotziokou said.

According to the officer, financial transactions were made through banks located in Asian countries.

The suspects were brought before an Athens prosecutor on formal charges of establishing and running a criminal organization and violating legislation regarding illegal betting, the two police officers said.

"It should be noted that due to the international character of the criminal organization and its operations in many countries, the investigations will be continued in the context of the international police cooperation, with Interpol's assistance, to identify the entire extent of the ring's illegal business," Rotziokou underlined. Enditem