Two suspects linked to a significant online gambling case involving RMB285 million ($40.4 million) have returned to China after evading capture for five years.
According to the Hubei Provincial Public Security Department’s Cybersecurity Protection Team, the suspects, who fled to the Philippines, voluntarily surrendered on September 9th this year.
The investigation dates back to December 2018 when police in Xianning, Hubei Province, stumbled upon an illegal online gambling studio operating within a residential area. Initial inquiries revealed that this studio acted as a domestic agent for an overseas gambling platform, attracting numerous gamblers through online promotions and earning hefty commissions from their illegal activities.
The total amount involved in the case reached an astonishing RMB285 million ($40.4 million). Since 2016, the criminal group had exploited its influence in the online gambling community to recruit new gamblers and refer them to foreign platforms for referral fees. They also managed domestic financial transactions for the platform under various guises, including “commissions” and “insurance funds,” profiting from illegal means that affected thousands of victims across more than 20 provinces in China.
In January 2019, Xianning police launched a major operation, arresting multiple suspects, including seven studio members, and dismantling an upstream criminal organization, which led to the apprehension of four individuals at the scene. However, the main suspects, Wang and Xie, managed to escape abroad.
This year, the Xianning Cyber Police conducted a thorough review of the fugitives’ information and tracked them to their location overseas. After engaging in policy education and persuasion, both Wang and Xie decided to return to China and surrender.
Currently, all primary suspects in this large-scale online gambling case are in custody, and the case has entered the subsequent trial phase.
