Two cross-border gambling gangs busted in Beijing

Two cross-border gambling gangs were busted in Beijing recently, with 155 people criminally detained on suspicion of operating gambling houses and 100 others administratively detained for attending the illegal activity, Beijing police said on Monday.

The police also seized equipment used by the gangs, including computers, mobile phones and point-of-sale machines used to take money from bank cards, the Beijing Public Security Bureau said in a statement.

The authorities established a special team and dispatched police officers to the city's Chaoyang and Fengtai districts to follow the gangs and collect evidence after finding some online clues in April, it said.

Both the gangs had a clear division of work, and four major organizers all had premier accounts with overseas gambling websites, the police said, adding that the gambling activity, which resembled a pyramid scheme, was developed both online and offline.

The bureau called on members of the public to report clues related to gambling in a timely manner to help the police to build a safer social and online environment.