Vietnam arrests 14 people involving in int'l soccer betting ring

Vietnam has detained 14 local people involving in an international soccer betting ring in southern Ho Chi Minh City, and seized 425,000 U.S. dollars in cash, local newspaper Pioneer reported Monday.

Local police, on Sunday, detained the people, including the 54- year-old ringleader Ma Van Kim Phong, who has, since early 2005, operated the gambling ring with bets of up to tens of thousands of dollars for each international soccer match via the Internet.

The ring has branches in the city and many northern localities, and conducts transactions with foreign bookmakers in China's mainland and Hong Kong.

On Sunday, the police also seized more than two billion Vietnamese dong (VND) (125,000 U.S. dollars), 300,000 dollars, two cars and 13 computers.

Phong was arrested while receiving bets from Vietnamese gamblers at his house in the city.

Like other kinds of gambling, except for casinos designated for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese, soccer betting is illegal in Vietnam. Dozens of local bettors and bookmakers are detained during major national and international soccer tournaments.

Source: Xinhua