Taiwan authorities have shut down an illegal online gambling operation that reportedly handled wagers worth over NT$1b (US$32.5m) in just the past six months.

On Thursday, the Taipei Times reported that Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) had shut down the illegal online gambling operation of a “criminal ring” following a series of raids earlier this month on residences in the municipality of Taoyuan.

Police arrested a number of the ring’s members, including the two suspected leaders, one of whom claimed that he was just the disgruntled ‘branch manager’ for the ring’s Chinese proprietors, didn’t handle any of the betting cash and received only a small commission for his services.

Despite the ring reportedly handling weekly wagers averaging NT$20m, the self-described branch manager said his total cut over the ring’s lifespan was a mere NT$10m, from which he had to pay his overworked staff.