KANPUR: Uttar Pradesh Police have busted a major betting racket involving transactions worth over Rs 100 crore in just three months, arresting eight alleged masterminds linked to an international syndicate.
Police said the accused were operating illegal betting through banned gaming apps and laundering cyber fraud money by routing it into accounts of betting winners. Around Rs 50 lakh has been frozen so far.
Police commissioner Raghubir Lal said the racket was being run via apps such as Lotus365, Reddy Book, Kartikey, and Dubai Exh, despite betting being prohibited in India.
Acting on intelligence inputs, a team from Barra police station arrested the eight accused, who were allegedly part of a network connected to operators based in Dubai, Delhi, and Noida.
Investigations revealed that users had to purchase IDs from handlers to access the apps. Once onboarded, the accused facilitated betting activities and managed financial transactions.
Police said the group operated under the name “Branch-24” and handled payouts to winning bettors. Instructions were shared through WhatsApp groups, following which money was transferred to designated accounts.
The accused were reportedly paid monthly salaries ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. They were trained by the syndicate before being deployed as agents.
Officials added that several individuals duped by the racket lost significant sums of money, with some cases allegedly leading to suicides and severe financial distress for families.
The apps were promoted through social media, luring users with initial small winnings before causing heavy losses on larger bets.
Police seized 26 bank passbooks, details of 79 bank accounts, 30 active SIM cards, 25 mobile phones, a car, and over Rs 50 lakh in linked accounts during the operation.
The arrested have been identified as Satyam Tiwari, Anmol Vishwakarma, Nitin Gupta, Abhishek Verma, Hitesh Nigam, Snehil Bajaj, Sultan Ahmad, and Naushad. Further investigation is underway.
