Nellore cops bust international cricket betting racket, arrest 2
Nellore: In a major breakthrough, Nellore police on Tuesday arrested two international cricket betting bookies and unearthed a massive financial network linked to online betting operations. Police trace online transactions worth Rs 89 lakh, identified 25 bank accounts holding Rs 1.65 crore, seized Rs 35 lakh in cash and confiscated a laptop, a monitor and a cash-counting machine.
The accused were identified as Podapati Mahesh Babu (37) of Jandadibba Road, Santhinagar, Buchireddypalem in Nellore district, and Podapati Harikrishna (29) of Kobdamudugupalem in Kandukur mandal of Prakasam district.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, additional superintendent of police Deeksha said that on February 19, K Venugopal of Buchireddypalem mandal lodged a complaint stating that he had lost Rs 53 lakh after investing in an online business operated by the accused. When he repeatedly requested the return of his money, the accused allegedly threatened to kill him.
Suspecting foul play, a police team led by Balajinagar circle inspector Sambasiva Rao launched an investigation and found that the accused were operating as cricket betting bookies.
The ASP said the duo had been using advanced technologies such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, and had designed a ‘Radhe Exchange’ app to facilitate betting transactions. The accused had reportedly been staying in Dubai and Bangkok for the past two months.
She added that the police cracked the case using sophisticated tools, including Software Defined Perimeter (SDP), Call Data Record (CDR) analysis, Intelligent Distribution Power Router (IDPR), and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques. The accused were traced and arrested based on technical surveillance.
The ASP appealed to the public not to fall prey to online trading and betting schemes, warning that fraudsters are using advanced methods to siphon off public money.
Nellore rural DSP Gattamaneni Srinivasa Rao, SB DSP Srinivasulu Reddy, CI Srinivasa Reddy, Balajinagar CI Narasimha Rao and other officials were present at the press conference.
