An illegal cricket betting syndicate being operated out of West Delhi’s Karampura has been busted with the arrest of three men, police said on Saturday. Police have recovered over Rs 22 lakh from different bank accounts that were a part of the syndicate.
The three accused, who have been identified as Manish Sahani, Yogesh Kukreja, and Suraj, were nabbed after a Crime Branch team led by Inspector Sandeep Singh raided a flat at DLF Towers in Karampura on March 6 based on a tip-off, said officials.
“The syndicate was found to be actively engaged in illegal betting on the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand played in Gadaffi Stadium of Lahore in Pakistan on March 5,” DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.
Sahani, 42, was in the business of selling old cars in the Hakikat Nagar area before he allegedly set up a gambling syndicate following financial losses. Sahani didn’t involve any middlemen and led the bets based on call recordings of participants, police said. Yogesh Kukreja, 31, joined the betting business in 2021 and was handling accounts for Sahani. Suraj, 24, too maintained accounts, police said.
“A total of Rs. 22,62,136 deposited in different accounts, an assistant sound box (used for voice recording), one laptop, nine mobile phones, one LED TV, and multiple notepads and betting slips have been seized from their possession,” DCP (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.
The arrests come after two men were arrested for betting in another ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Australia, police said.
The two men, Praveen Kochhar and Sanjeev Kumar, were allegedly raking up bets for the match when they were nabbed during a raid on March 4.
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