Eleven suspects involved in illegal lottery gambling have been escorted back to China from Malaysia, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Wednesday.

During the investigation, police found that the criminal gang had long operated illegal lotteries as bookmakers based on results from overseas gambling websites. Using social media platforms and offline promotion, the gang recruited domestic agents and gamblers, luring them with "high odds" for large-scale gambling activities.

The case involved a huge sum of money and caused severe social harm, with the suspects hiding overseas, the ministry said.

Based on collected evidence and in line with the MPS's deployment, public security authorities in Hainan province dispatched a task force to Malaysia for international police cooperation.

With assistance from the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Malaysian police transferred the 11 suspects to the Chinese task force at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which then successfully escorted them back to China. The ministry called it another important achievement of international police cooperation between China and Malaysia.

Through in-depth investigation of this case, Hainan police have further cracked down on two other illegal lottery gambling gangs. Relevant cases are still under investigation.

An official from the ministry said public security organs will maintain a high-pressure crackdown on gambling-related crimes and continue to deepen international police cooperation to apprehend all criminal suspects. The ministry also warned involved criminals to voluntarily surrender to strive for lenient treatment.