Nineteen Chinese nationals were arrested in Siem Reap City on Tuesday for luring locals into illegal online gambling, according to police officials.
The men and women, aged 20 to 35, set up shop in two apartments and one guesthouse in Svay Dangkum commune, which were raided by some 20 police officers on Tuesday morning, said Ea Kimsan, deputy Siem Reap provincial police chief.
“We’ve seen them walking in there as a group, and then out, and they appeared not to be tourists,” Mr. Kimsan said.
After setting up shop in the commune, the group began to open accounts for Cambodians interested in online gambling, said Mr. Kimsan.
The group opened “a lot” of accounts, he said, but could not specify how many, adding that police had confiscated 10 desktop computers, five laptops, and 10 mobile phones during the raids.
Mr. Kimsan did not know what online venue the group’s clients were using to gamble, but said that it spanned the region.
The 19 were being held for questioning at the provincial police station, he said.
