Betting racket busted, five arrested
Gudivada (Krishna District): Krishna district police busted a major online betting racket in Gudivada and arrested five persons allegedly involved in organising cricket betting. Acting on the directions of Krishna District Superintendent of Police V Vidyasagar Naidu to take strict action against betting rackets, police conducted raids on a betting camp on Wednesday. Acting on specific information, teams from the Machilipatnam Crime Branch and Gudivada Rural Police conducted surprise raids on betting camps operating in TIDCO Colony flats in Gudivada Rural mandal. The accused were reportedly organising betting through online apps during the recent T20 World Cup final match.
During the operation, police arrested five persons including the alleged organiser Masala Siva, along with Bhanu Prasad, Kanaka Mahesh, Ajay Babu and Vamsi Kiran. The police also seized Rs 1.05 lakh in cash and eight mobile phones from their possession. Gudivada Rural Inspector Someswara Rao produced the five accused before the media. Addressing reporters, he said the accused were operating an online betting network and facilitating betting transactions through mobile applications and messaging platforms. He added that police identified WhatsApp chats and phone screenshots related to betting transactions during the investigation.
He said the main organiser Masala Siva, along with the other accused, was actively managing the betting operations and collecting money from participants. During the probe, police identified 17 bookies and about 92 persons who were allegedly involved in betting activities. The CI added that the seized mobile phones have been sent for forensic analysis to gather further evidence. He said the investigation is continuing to identify other persons connected to the betting racket.
