PANAJI: Six persons from Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal were arrested for allegedly operating an online IPL betting racket from a rented premises in Sangolda village in North Goa, police said on Thursday.
The raid was conducted by the Cyber Crime police station on the intervening night of April 15 and April 16, during which the accused were caught allegedly accepting bets through online applications linked to ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.
Police said the accused were operating the betting activities through the "MG Lion" and "Kabook 1" apps using multiple mobile phones.
The accused have been identified as Surat residents Gediya Raj Dilipbhai, Nilesh Ratibhai Hirani and Shani Dipakbhai Chavada, Rokad Yash Jaysukhbhai from Amreli in Gujarat, Bhimraj Meena from Udaipur in Rajasthan, and Prashant Harish Trivedi from Bardhaman in West Bengal.
During the raid, the police seized six laptops, Rs 31,000 in cash, 50 ATM cards, several mule account kits and mobile phones collectively valued at around Rs 10 lakh, said officials.
Police said the accused allegedly routed betting proceeds through multiple mule accounts operated by them, while also using fake identities and credentials, thereby committing identity theft to facilitate gambling operations.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Raju Raut Desai by a team led by inspector Deepak Pednekar.
The accused have been booked under the Information Technology Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act.