BEIJING, Mar. 3 -- An online gambling ring based in Taiwan with a beachhead in Shenzhen had been smashed, Shenzhen police announced Tuesday.

    The case, involving more than 500 million yuan (US$60.4 million) in gambling funds, was the biggest Guangdong police had uncovered, newspapers reported.

    Some 51 million yuan had been seized and 597 people in 22 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including 395 suspected organizers and 202 gamblers, had been caught by police nationwide under the Public Security Ministry.

    In June 2004, Shenzhen police received a report from the provincial public security department that the Baoying Company, based in Taichung in Taiwan Province, had been cooperating with people in Shenzhen in organizing online gambling.

    Police found the gambling ring mainly bet on soccer and NBA matches. In early November last year, six main suspects were captured in Luohu, Futian and Nanshan. They included a man surnamed Su, who was allegedly a major agent for the company. He was accused of developing the gambling business in Shenzhen and other cities and had allegedly enrolled more than 20 members in Shenzhen.

    The nationwide blitz on the gambling ring was carried out in later November. Police said the network had more than 6,000 members on the mainland.

    Among those arrested was the Baoying Company¡¯s alleged Beijing agent, Wang Xin, whose group had allegedly organized gambling involving 116 million yuan since last May, the China Daily reported.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily)