Eight Suspected Members Of Organised Criminal Group To Be Charged Under The Organised Crime Act

The Police will be charging six men and two women, aged between 37 and 66, on 10 May 2023 for their alleged involvement in an organised criminal group believed to be illegally engaged in remote gambling activities.

The eight persons were arrested in a Police operation targeting criminal syndicates in September 2020. Of the eight persons, five men and one woman had already been charged on 8 September 2020 for offences under the Remote Gambling Act 2014 (RGA).

The six men and two women will be charged in court for various offences under the Organised Crime Act 2015 (OCA) and the RGA. Two men will face additional charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA).

Under the OCA, it is an offence to be a member of an organised crime group. Any person who is or acts as a member of a locally-linked organised crime group shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both. It is also illegal to recruit another person to commit offences for an organised crime group, and the offender will face enhanced punishments prescribed for the offence instructed.

Under the CDSA, any person who converts or transfers any benefits from criminal conduct or removes it from jurisdiction shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.