Police believed they have smashed an illegal betting syndicate by arresting more than 25 Chinese and Cambodian nationals in the capital on Friday.

Major General Y Sok Khy, chief of the Ministry of Interior’s anti-terrorism police, told the Post yesterday that 19 Chinese nationals and seven Cambodia nationals were arrested at the offices of a real estate company in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district.

“They were accused by our police of illegal gambling and will be sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court for further questioning,” Sok Khy said.

“A decision will be reached in accordance with the law.”

Several computers, he added, had been confiscated.

“This marks the third crackdown on Chinese [nationals] involved in online gambling in Phnom Penh this year.”

The suspects and their legal representatives could not be reached yesterday.

On September 2, 67 people were arrested in a coordinated bust across three locations in Phnom Penh.

The group included 30 Cambodians nationals, five Vietnamese, five Thais, six Chinese, seven Indonesians and 14 Malaysians, National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said.

According to Cambodia’s Law on the Suppression of Gambling, which was adopted by the National Assembly in 1996, betting is illegal, even if the process is online.