Hanoi: Vietnam police on Saturday arrested more than 380 Chinese nationals for allegedly running an illegal online gambling operation worth USD 435 million in the port city of Hai Phong.
According to media reports, the arrests were made on Saturday after police raided numerous buildings and found devices for online gambling activities, including nearly 2,000 smartphones, 533 laptops, cash and ATMs.
Police said that the detained Chinese nationals aged between 18 and 24, were operating online gambling website from more than 100 rooms at a tightly-guarded urban area in the Hai Phong City, located 100 kilometers east of capital Hanoi.
The ring had successfully processed transactions worth more than $435.
"This is a criminal investigation in a new and sophisticated method of operation, implemented on cyberspace, organized under the cover of foreign investment enterprises in Vietnam," police added.
The case also involves the largest number of foreigners and the largest amount of gambling and online betting ever discovered in the country.
Gambling is illegal in Vietnam in most cases, but foreigners are allowed to gamble in local casinos. Last year, the country had said that it would allow some local citizens to gamble at local casinos.
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