Cyberabad cops bust 5 online cricket betting gangs; 15 held, Rs 2.41 Cr seized

Hyderabad: In separate operations, the SOT of Cyberabad Shamshabad, Balanagar and Madhapur teams arrested online cricket betting organisers, bookies and punters in the five areas of Cyberabad Commissionerate. As many as five gangs were busted, 15 persons were held and Rs 2,41,06,767 (more than Rs 2.41 crores) was seized from them.

In the five cases, 57 bank accounts and eight Phone Pay UPI numbers connected to online betting were frozen.

Case 1

Pondhuri Suresh (42), a professional bookie and a resident of Kukatpally was arrested. He was organising online cricket betting for the ongoing IPL-2024 matches through sites such as Vajraexch, Natioalexchang9, Parker777, Radheexch and Metroexch and online betting apps.

Vajraexch is among the popular ones. As per police data, from March to April 2024, 110 punters invested about Rs 1.5 crores through this website.

Suresh’s arrest led the police to another accused Mothkupally Rama Krishna Reddy (30), a farmer from Vikarabad. Suresh also revealed that Ramanjaneyulu from Narsaraopeta is the main organiser. He is absconding.

In 2022, 2023 and 2024 Suresh organised betting under Ramanjaneyulu involving 350 punters who invested about Rs 4.5 crores. The police seized Rs 79,99,739 (Rs 79 lakhs) out of which Rs 30,07,200 (Rs 30 lakhs) is in cash. Another Rs 49,92,539 was found in two bank accounts which were immediately frozen. The police also seized other incriminating material, smartphones and a scooty.

Case 2

Four persons – Lachupathula Chinna Babu, Chennamsetti Karimulla Sekhadri, Panamati Venkatesh and Donda Ramesh – were arrested at Mallampet Village under the limits of Dundigal PS. They were organising online cricket betting through the app Threeexch. They revealed that the main organiser is Kalyan, a resident of Bheemavaram. From March to April, 19 punters invested around Rs 10 lakhs in their gambling. A total amount of Rs 1,21,575 was seized from them. Seven bank accounts containing Rs 1,19,175 were frozen. Material worth Rs 4,84,000 was also seized.

Case 3

Four bookies were held from SRS Diamonds Apartments, Gokul Plots under the limits of Miyapur PS, for organising online cricket betting through Londonexch, Nationalexchange9 and Ukexch24 on the ongoing IPL matches.

The arrested have been identified as Kandukuri Veera Shankar Chary (42), a resident of the apartments, Bhoomi Reddy Ramprasad Reddy (53), Pabbati Murali (40) and Upasi Vamshi Krishna (30). The main organisers are absconding. They are identified as Rajesh Reddy, Suresh Reddy alias Shankar Reddy (operating from Dubai), Nagarajuna Reddy and Sadiq.

As per the financial records seized by the police, the organisers, between made March 22 and April 14, invested around Rs 15,40,86,750 (more than Rs 15.40 crores) through the websites. The total amount seized from them including cash and money in four bank accounts is Rs 1,44,00,273. Incriminating material worth Rs 80,05,000 was also seized.

Case 4

Two bookies named Yerramachu Ajay Kumar, (53) and Anadula Mahesh Kumar (42) were held at HAL Colony, Gajularamaram, under the limits of Jeedimetla PS, for organising online cricket betting on ongoing IPL matches.

They revealed that Naresh alias Nani is the main organiser and he is missing. A betting amount of Rs 93,534 was seized and one bank account was frozen. Material worth Rs 1,04,534 was seized.

Case 5

Three bookies named Morthala Srikanth Reddy (30), Alli Lokesh (29) and G Venkata Sunil (28) were held for organising cricket betting in Bachupally. The police froze bank accounts with Rs 13,30,146 connected to betting. Material such as smartphones, laptops, mobiles and others worth Rs 1,83,000 was seized.

Public advisory

The public is requested to inform the police about bookies and punters organising online cricket betting. They can dial 100 or contact through Cyberabad WhatsApp at 9490617444. The caller’s identity will be kept confidential.