BENGALURU: Sleuths of the Special Enquiry Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) have uncovered an organised online cricket betting network allegedly operating during the ongoing IPL tournament and arrested five master bookies in separate cases.
The accused allegedly collected money from the public as betting stakes and provided betting IDs to punters, sub-bookies, and agents through online platforms.
A police officer told TNIE that over the last 20 days, three cases were registered at the CCB following tip-offs and information regarding organised online cricket betting operations being run using mobile phones.
The arrested accused were ‘master bookies’ who had allegedly purchased betting points online, suspected to have originated from Delhi and Mumbai. All three cases were booked under the Karnataka Police Act and Section 112 (petty organised crime) of the BNS.
The police have seized their mobile phones and are also probing how the accused obtained betting IDs and other related details, and further investigations are underway. Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime-1) Shrihari Babu BL, the Special Enquiry Wing has been cracking down on organised betting rackets.
Recently, a team led by police inspector Arun Salunke of the CCB arrested three persons identified as Syed Dastagir (45), a resident of Kanteerava Nagar; Sajayath (40), a resident of Padarayanapura; and another accused for allegedly running an organised online cricket betting racket.
Meanwhile, a team led by police Inspector MJ Dayananda arrested a man identified as Dileep near Muddinapalya Main Road in Annapoorneshwari Nagar. In another incident, accused Kranthi Kumar Jain was arrested near Liciya City Centre in SJ Park for allegedly being involved in similar betting activities.