Chinese online gambling and lottery fraud suspects deported from Fiji

77 Chinese citizens accused of illegal online gambling and lottery fraud offences were flown back to China from Fiji this week and escorted to detention facilities by a large contingent of police officers.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement Saturday that the suspects are defendants in more than 50 cases involving over 6 million yuan (US$ 892,000).

The Ministry revealed that a Chinese victim of the defendants’ criminal activity committed suicide last year, triggering large-scale investigations at provincial and state levels which uncovered a large criminal enterprise involving over 200 suspects based in China, Indonesia and Fiji, with nearly 100 million yuan in illegal gains involved. Its victims were from over 20 provinces and municipalities across China.

Working in collaboration with Fijian authorities, China sent a police investigating team to Fiji last month, and on July 18 joint police teams raided five premises, arresting 77 suspects and confiscating equipment, including mobile phones, computers and bank cards.

Simultaneously, police teams in China raided eight premises, arresting a further 83 suspects.

The Ministry additionally advised the Xinhua news agency that a separate but similar case was being pursued in Indonesia, where 143 suspects had been arrested and deported back to China, and a further 10 Chinese citizens were under arrest in Indonesia pending investigations.

This ring has generated over 20 million yuan in fraudulent activity, the Ministry claimed.