11 held in online cricket betting racket in Visakhapatnam

VISAKHAPATNAM: In a major crackdown, the Visakhapatnam police on Friday busted an international cricket betting racket and arrested 11 persons who were involved in illegally transferring around Rs 357 crore into 63 bank accounts through online cricket betting apps. All the eleven people were sent to judicial custody.

Disclosing the case details before the media in Visakhapatnam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Kanchi Srinivas said that a person identified as Yerra Sattibabu gave a petition and stated that he was cheated in an online cricket betting during the recently organised Spandana programme. Taking serious note of the matter, Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Ravi Shankar ordered an investigation, he said.

The DCP said that in their investigation the police verified Sattibabu's bank transactions and identified that lakhs of rupees were transferred to Suribabu, a bookie. From Suribabu's account, the amount was transferred to several other accounts which helped the police to bust the online cricket betting racket. "We have arrested 11 persons involved in the online betting racket. Two more persons, Dinesh aka Monu and Vasudev Rao, identified as kingpins of the online betting racket are yet to be arrested," he said.

Srinivas said that the investigation also revealed that the accused looted the money by maintaining fake accounts on a par with their current bank accounts. In all, the online cricket betting racket utilised as many as 63 bank accounts and made transactions worth Rs 357 crore. "We have approached the banks to freeze another Rs 75 lakh found in 32 bank accounts. Suribabu from Ankapalle has been identified as one of the kingpins in the online cricket betting racket," he said.

The DCP said that Suribabu was habituated to online cricket betting and within a short period, he became a bookie and organised betting during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and international tournaments. Suribabu conducted betting with around 30 people for each game and deposited around Rs 5 lakh. On an average, he made transactions between Rs 5-6 crore per annum. To avoid suspicion against him, Suribabu transferred the amount to Dinesh, who owns a tour and travel company, he said.

"We are investigating the case from all possible angles to ascertain the facts and identify the others involved in the online cricket betting racket. We will also seize the mobile phones of the accused and launch further investigations into the case," the DCP said.