HYDERABAD: A cricket betting racket accepting bets on Pakistan Super League was busted at Nizampet on Monday night.
The Special Operations Team (SOT) sleuths of Cyberabad police arrested five offenders and seized Rs 23.8 lakh worth property from their possession.
SOT Madhapur kept a watch on the activities of bookies and gathered credible information about online cricket betting racket being operated from Pavani Residency at Bhandari Layout, Nizampet.
Police raided the place on Monday night and arrested five bookies — G Satya Pavan Kumar, 32, U Satheesh Raju, 41, both from Bhimavaram, Ch Trinath, 29, of Machilipatnam, N Bhaskar, 31, from Nuziveedu, and J Prasad, 25, from Akiveedu, all from AP.
The main accused, Somanna, of East Godavari district, was absconding.
Cyberabad police commissioner V C Sajjanar said absconding accused Somanna had been organising online cricket betting racket in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Satya Pavan Kumar and Satheesh Raju obtained access to betting sites from Somanna and through Trinath, Bhaskar and Prasad, they coordinate with other bookies in Hyderabad online for commission.
“Punters can see profit or loss online through the betting apps provided by the accused and payments are mostly online.
The cash transaction between Somanna and Satya Pavan Kumar happens through hawala,” the commissioner said.
Sajjanar also mentioned that many youngsters, who had participated in cricket betting, lost a lot of money and advised youth to stay away from such activities.
“We heard that students are also indulging in betting and parents should keep a watch on the activities of children.
People can alert Cyberabad police about cricket betting by dialling 100 or by sending a message to 9490617444,” the commissioner said.
Police seized Rs 20.5 lakh cash, 26 cell phones connected to a communicator board, a TV, a router and a laptop, all worth Rs 23.8 lakh from the accused.