Police have arrested 31 people suspected of involvement in illegal World Cup betting and seized thousands of dollars of bets, an official said today.

The suspects have been arrested in raids in several areas in Johor since the start of the tournament last week, according to state police chief Mokhtar Shariff.

Seized from the suspects were RM61,215 (US$19,000) and RM14,562 (S$5,650) believed to be bets, as well as 30 mobile phones, nine computers and several modems, Mokhtar said.

He said the suspects were believed to be operating in Johor and Singapore.

Mokhtar said the police would continue operations against illegal gambling activities for the duration of the World Cup.

- dpa