Police bust Guangzhou betting gang

Police in the Guangdong provincial capital detained 157 suspects amid a crackdown against illegal soccer gambling.

More than 132 million yuan ($21.29 million) has been frozen in bank accounts as police targeted a major soccer betting syndicate in the Pearl River delta, according to a press release from the Guangzhou bureau of public security on Thursday.

Coordinated operations were launched in recent weeks, after a year-long investigation, police said.

Police seized computers, credit cards and other betting equipment in raids across the city.

"It the largest illegal soccer betting gang busted in the mainland so far, and the crackdown has helped consolidate Guangdong's great achievements in fighting underground soccer gambling," police said.

The gang placed bets worth more than 100 billion yuan on matches at home and abroad, the police said.