Puri: In a major crackdown on illegal gambling activities, Puri Police have arrested the alleged kingpin of a largescale IPL betting syndicate operating in Odisha.
The accused, identified as 32-year-old Krishna Prasad Tripathy of Brahmapur, was running a well-organised betting empire involving crores of rupees.
Tripathy maintained a low profile and operated in a cinematic style by keeping his real identity secret and owned a hotel named ‘Namaste’ in Brahampur.
The accused, believed to have dev
eloped custom software for the betting operations, allegedly used the online platform ‘Sky Exchange’ to facilitate betting and earned lakhs of rupees through illegal IPL betting.
Following his arrest, police conducted a search at his residence and seized approximately Rs 10 lakh in cash. They also froze and seized Rs 8 lakh from his bank account. Further investigation into his other bank accounts, properties, ATMs, and assets is underway.
Earlier, police had busted a betting operation at Masani Chandi Square in Puri in April. Four persons were arrested from the spot while betting was in progress. Police seized Rs 3.04 lakh in cash and six mobile phones from the spot. During a subsequent raid at a house, another Rs 22.31 lakh in cash was recovered.
In total, police had earlier seized and frozen assets worth over Rs 31.81 lakh in connection with the racket. The illegal betting operation is suspected to have been running for nearly two years.
With the arrest of the main accused, police claim to have delivered a major blow to the betting syndicate. Further investigation is underway to uncover the full network and other accomplices.