Criminal sports betting ring busted after making 'significant' winnings off shocking hi-tech method

Spanish police in a joint operation with INTERPOL uncovered and raided a sports betting ring based in Spain and operated by Romanian and Bulgarian criminals. (SOURCE: INTERPOL)

Spanish police, in cooperation with Interpol and other law enforcement agencies, busted up a major betting ring that fixed a range of sporting events and exploited technology to place their bets before bookmakers could. 

"Organized crime groups will exploit the tiniest of gaps given the opportunity. In this case, we’re talking about a 20 or 30-second advantage that led to significant gains," Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said following the operation. 

"Successful operations such as the one led by Spain only reaffirm our engagement in ensuring our entire suite of Notices, databases and expert networks fully support police in closing these gaps," he added. 

Authorities seized cell phones, satellite dishes and signal receivers, cash and counterfeit banknotes, credit and debit cards, identification documents and prepaid SIM cards as part of their raids. 

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Spanish Police and Interpol assemble materials used to carry out the hi-tech betting. (INTERPOL)

Spanish police first noted suspicious betting activity in 2020 surrounding a table tennis event, which led to an investigation that uncovered the astonishing system the criminals used. They used satellite technology to access live sports feeds straight from stadiums, pitches and arenas so that they could place bets before bookmakers could set or change their odds. 

The group, based in Spain but of Romanian and Bulgarian origin, primarily targeted soccer competitions, including German Bundesliga matches