Italian Police Arrest 12 Suspects Connected To Illegal Gambling
12 suspects connected to an offshore gambling organization have been arrested by Italian police after an extensive investigation identified their strongholds. The police raided several warehouses before finding the twelve men in and arresting them on the spot. The operation was held in Malta, and Italian police had to collaborate with local law enforcement to properly plan and execute the arrests, which was a major success for the department. The detainees are expected to appear in court two weeks from now to give evidence and testify.
Italian Police have put a stop to an offshore gambling operation being held out of a Maltese warehouse in southern Valletta. This is the first time Italy’s law enforcement has crossed to the Mediterranean island of Malta to arrest suspects, but the operation went smoothly, and all the targets have been detained. This is a big achievement for the country’s police department. ©Antonio_Cansino/Pixabay
Italian Police have been successful in arresting 12 suspects operating offshore gambling set ups on the island of Malta. While they managed to track them to the island, initially, they were going to be denied entry. Malta’s law enforcement stepped forth to undertake the operation, and after a lengthy deliberation from judicial representatives, they decided to incorporate the Italian department for extra coverage and experience. After planning the mission for weeks, the groups of officers set off in a squad of vehicles and made their way to southern Valletta to arrest the men involved.
After surrounding the warehouse, police searched the building thoroughly, using live weaponry in case they faced any resistance. Thankfully they didn’t have to fire any rounds as the suspects gave themselves up almost immediately, almost no violence was used and the operation was smooth and successful, much to the delight of Italian and Maltese ministers. In the warehouse, however, they found plenty of illicit assets, including weaponry, class A drugs, and fake money, which were removed and held in evidence lockers. These will come in handy once the trial commences.
All 12 men are to be prosecuted as one body and will all face the same charges for their crimes in this setup. Police have been tracking the group for months, and after a VPN slip-up by one of the men, police hackers were able to trace the IP address of one of the men after he logged on to his personal email with the same device. Once they attained this information, the Italian representatives informed Malta’s police department and gave them the run-down of the situation.
Italian Police Don’t Mess About
A key aspect of the mission was the speed at which police acted to arrest the men involved. The group of criminals barely had enough time to react, and before they knew it, they were surrounded by police officers with nowhere to go. This is a big statement from the Italian government as they have shown that they will not stand for illegal offshore setups which take advantage of the market and bypass licensing laws. Offshore gambling is highly illegal in the country, and without a license, firms can be prosecuted by the country’s regulators and face severe penalties.
According to police reports, they seized almost $2.3 million worth of illegal assets, which have all been listed and placed in evidence bags for the upcoming prosecution. Officers were astonished at how much money the men had collected over months of running an illegal gambling site, and once all of their details were recorded, the banks were informed, and all of their accounts were frozen. This is a warning to other criminals that the Italian police will not stand by and allow their country to become corrupted by offshore gambling operations with no respect for the law.
