Hyderabad, June 1: The Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested 11 persons allegedly involved in an online betting racket linked to the betting platform Dafabet. Officials seized three luxury cars, eight laptops, two iPads, 26 mobile phones, five passports and Rs 3.21 lakh in cash during the operation.
The arrests were made by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) following a probe into a complaint filed by a Karimnagar resident who allegedly lost nearly Rs 9.95 lakh through the online betting platform.
Dafabet Online Betting Racket Spanned Multiple States
According to CID Director General of Police Charu Sinha, the investigation uncovered a complex network that used 46 mule bank accounts across eight transaction layers to collect and route illegal betting proceeds.
The arrested include Manish Singh and Abhishek Singh, alleged organisers of the Dafabet platform. Others arrested were Igneshious Das, Mohd Halim and Abhishek Wadhav, who allegedly arranged mule accounts on commission. Love Kumar and Simarpreeth Singh allegedly created a fake firm to receive betting funds, while Ajith Singh, Vijay Patidar, Yugal Patidar and Prateek Praveen Bhai were part of the technical support team.
Investigators found that the network promoted betting activities related to cricket, casino games and the Aviator platform. Victims were allegedly lured through promises of bonuses, easy profits and high returns.
Funds were reportedly collected through UPI IDs, QR codes, internet banking and multiple bank accounts controlled by the syndicate. Officials said small initial payouts were used to build trust and encourage larger deposits from users.
CID teams led by DSP-rank officers were deployed to Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab. After a two-week operation, investigators tracked down and arrested the suspects.
Officials said the accused have links to online betting cases across several states. Data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal indicates that 225 complaints and 73 criminal cases have been registered against members of the network in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Charu Sinha stated that Telangana has so far registered 414 cases related to illegal online betting activities. Authorities have identified and blocked 108 online betting applications and implemented geo-fencing measures against 37 betting platforms in coordination with internet service providers.
The CID chief also revealed that 25 celebrities and social media influencers who had promoted betting applications were counselled about the risks associated with such endorsements. She warned that legal action would be taken if they continue promoting online betting platforms in the future.
The investigation is continuing to identify additional beneficiaries and financial links connected to the betting network.
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