SINGAPORE - Police have arrested nine men and two women suspected of being involved in a remote gambling operation.

The suspects are members of the first syndicate to be investigated under the Remote Gambling Act, passed in October last year. It came into effect in February this year.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects, aged between 26 and 51, are believed to have received illegal bets amounting to about $3 million in the past two weeks.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department mounted simultaneous raids across Singapore on Sunday. Locations investigated included Balestier, Hougang, Tiong Bahru, Tanjong Pagar, Newton and Woodlands.

Police seized cash amounting to about $215,000, computers, mobile phones, betting records and bank transaction record booklets. Investigations are ongoing.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Tan Chye Hee said: "This is the first syndicate to be investigated by the Singapore Police Force under the new Act. Police are determined to stamp out unlawful remote gambling and will continue to take tough enforcement actions against those who flout the law."

Under the Remote Gambling Act 2014, a person convicted of providing unlawful remote gambling services for another may be fined not less than $20,000 and not more than $200,000, and/or jailed not more than five years.