A cricket betting racket was busted and four persons were arrested by the City Task Force (CTF) police in a raid at an apartment near Pandurangapuram here on Sunday.

The CTF team, led by Assistant CP I. Chittibabu and Inspector Syed Mohammad Eliyas, found that the prime accused P. Tamaiah Rao (41) alias Nanaji of Kakinada in East Godavari and his associate V. Kumar Reddaiah were collecting the bet amount from punters over mobile phones, on the cricket match between India and Pakistan of ICC World Cup Cricket-2015.

The police seized 28 mobile phones, laptop, printer, tape recorders, voice recorders, an LED television and Rs.1 lakh cash from them.

This is a major betting racket, to be unearthed by the CTF police, in the recent past.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, North Zone) C.M. Trivikram Varma said Nanaji, real estate businessman in East Godavari, has been staying with Reddaiah and two others in a rented flat by paying Rs.40,000 a month as rent for the past few months to carry out the illegal act.

Modus operandi

The modus operandi of the accused was to access the latest information on bets and rates through a wireless Internet connection from a website named Betfair. Once it was confirmed by bookies in Mumbai, the bets were offered to punters. On getting the information related to the amount of bet on a particular team, they were confirming the same with their counterparts in Kakinada over mobile phones, according to the police.

Nanaji and Reddaiah had purchased 28 mobile phones and SIM cards recently for the illegal act. The accused also used software to keep detailed records of rates and bets to avoid disputes with punters later.

Natives of Kakinada

The police came to know during the investigation that all the punters were natives of Kakinada. Mr. Trivikram Varma said bets worth Rs.8.35 lakh were placed in this case. As the bets were placed over phone, the cash transaction would take place only a day or two after the match, he added.

This is a major betting racket to be unearthed by the CTF police in the recent past