ANANTAPUR : Anantapur district police busted an international online gaming and cricket betting racket allegedly operated from the Philippines and arrested 10 persons at Kalyanadurgam town, Superintendent of Police P Jagadeesh said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused were identified as Talari Madhu, Veparalla Mohammed alias Moula, Shaik Babjan, Shaik Roshan Vali, Makodiki Srinivasulu, Thimmayya, Raghavendra Pavan Kumar, Sunkaravaina Kiran, Rapaka Prashanth and Gaddavalasa Manikantha Raja from AP and Telangana.
Police said two key accused, Sachin from Karnataka and Shiva, believed to be operating from the Philippines, are absconding.
Police seized `19.70 lakh in cash, a Mahindra XUV 700 car, four motorcycles, three laptops, a tablet, 15 mobile phones, 15 SIM cards, 13 ATM cards, cheque books, scanners, pen drives, card readers and publicity material related to the “Dream Play 1” app. Officials also froze `18.20 lakh in nine bank accounts, taking the total value of seized and frozen assets to around `60 lakh.
According to police, Shiva allegedly operated the racket from Makati in Metro Manila through the application, which facilitated illegal online casino games and cricket betting over the last three years.
Investigators found that Talari Madhu contacted Shiva through Instagram and coordinated local operations.
The gang allegedly collected mule bank accounts, passbooks and SIM cards from nearly 70 people by paying around `10,000 each.
Police said the materials were routed through Delhi associates and sent to the Philippines concealed in cargo consignments.
Acting on intelligence inputs during the IPL season, police raided the location on May 4 and apprehended the accused while allegedly engaging in online betting activities.