Exchanging experiences and strategies in tackling illegal bookmaking, in particular soccer bookmaking, at the two-day sharing session were a total of 12 officers from the Guangdong Public Security Department, Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, Macao Judiciary Police, Singapore Police Force and the Royal Malaysian Police, as well as over 100 officers from Crime Wing and regional crime units. They focussed on a broad spectrum of policing issues, including the overall trend of illegal bookmaking, especially borderless Internet gambling; strategies and difficulties in tackling illegal bookmaking; evidence collection and prosecution in different law enforcement agencies as well as the six participating parties' relevant legislations.

The officers also expressed their views on collaboration in conducting joint operations to tackle illegal bookmaking activities, with several successful cases against soccer bookmaking, the result of international co-operation during World Cup 2006, being cited to facilitate their exchanges. The cases included a joint operation conducted on June 13 last year by the Force, New South Wales in Australia and the Royal Malaysian Police to smash an international soccer bookmaking syndicate; seizure of betting slips amounting to $400 million and arrest of 19 persons by Macao Judiciary Police in June last year with intelligence provided by the Force; smashing an accounting centre of a soccer bookmaking syndicate in Shenzhen in July last year based on the information provided by the Force.

Also cited was a recent joint operation by the Force and Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, in which seven persons were arrested, and horse racing betting records amounting to $600,000 were seized in November last year.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the sharing session, Acting Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Ng Sai-kuen pointed out that the experience-sharing session was the first of its kind in Asia to combat illegal bookmaking, and described the two-day intensive programme as "very useful and constructive".

Mr Ng noted that though the session might not stamp out all illegal bookmaking activities immediately, it had enhanced participating officers' understanding of illegal bookmaking and each other's relevant legislations and prosecution procedures. It had also enlightened the officers on the modus operandi of bookmaking in different places, thus helping to make law enforcement action more effective.

Finally, the session concluded that the participating parties should continue their close co-operation in combating the crime, in particular in intelligence exchange, investigation support, joint operation and expertise exchange.

A useful session for everybody