COIMBATORE: Coimbatore city police have planned a joint operation with Coimbatore Rural police to curb the sale of illegal number lottery tickets under the Vadavalli and Thudiyalur police station limits, bordering rural Coimbatore.
In connection with the same, the police have seized Rs 45.8 lakh, arrested 27 people and registered six cases in the last three months, said Coimbatore city commissioner V Balakrishnan.
The police said the sale of such lottery tickets is at “an all-time high” in the two areas that were recently incorporated into the city limits. Despite the statewide ban on the sale of lottery tickets, number lottery tickets (one, three, and four-digit) are being sold illegally on the outskirts of Coimbatore city, especially in the suburban areas, they said.
Number lottery tickets, using the last one, three or four digits of Kerala lottery tickets, are sold daily around noon and at 2 pm; those using Nagaland lottery tickets are sold four times a day at 12 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm, sources said.
According to the city police, several lottery rackets share their lists of one, three or four-digit numbers over WhatsApp groups, from which the participants choose the numbers by paying for them. When the Kerala and Nagaland lottery results are announced, these gangs declare their own results and payouts, based on the actual winning lottery numbers, they said.
The police also mentioned instances of fraudsters selling fake Kerala and Nagaland lottery tickets, resulting in many people losing their savings. There have been instances where some winners, who were promised prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, did not receive their money. Often, these individuals are reluctant to report the incident to the police as both buying and selling of lottery tickets are illegal in Tamil Nadu, the police added.
Commissioner V Balakrishnan said the police have recently arrested six individuals in connection with the sale number lottery tickets and confiscated their electronic gadgets. One of the six persons arrested -- a notorious rowdy -- has been detained under the Goondas Act, he said. Also, three cars, five motorbikes, 34 smartphones, 11 laptops and one electronic tablet were seized from them, he said.
“These individuals are conducting businesses based on the lottery numbers on the tickets from Kerala and Nagaland, selling separate tickets online and announcing prizes based on the actual results of these lotteries,” he said, adding that Thudiyalur and Vadavalli police station limits are particularly witnessing an increase in illegal number lottery sales as they share borders with rural Coimbatore.