Police intensify crackdown on illegal cricket betting activities

Visakhapatnam: Inview of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 finals scheduled on May 31, Visakhapatnam city police have significantly intensified their surveillance on illegal cricket betting activities across the city. Responding to intelligence inputs that indicated betting syndicates were attempting to organise large-scale betting operations involving substantial amounts of money, police officials have stepped up enforcement measures to curb the menace and protect the public from falling prey to unlawful betting networks.

In a step to crack down on the online cricket betting network and related cyber offences, Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi directed special teams to closely monitor the activities of bookies and betting intermediaries operating in the city.

Following this, cybercrime police station Inspector K Bhavani Prasad carried out a technical investigation and successfully apprehended two individuals allegedly involved in facilitating online cricket betting operations recently. The accused were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. A case was registered following credible information that illegal cricket betting was carried out through online platforms, including portals such as Radheexchange.com and Swastik.com, in the region. During the investigation, officials found that the accused had been actively participating in online cricket betting with the intention of earning huge profits. They were also allegedly encouraging others to join the betting network by sharing application links, usernames, passwords, and other access credentials required to participate in online activities. Investigators stated that the accused were instrumental in recruiting additional participants into the betting ecosystem and facilitating betting transactions through these platforms.

Ahead of the IPL final match, P Nanaji, a resident of Parawada village in Anakapalli district, and Naveen Kumar, a native of Markapuram in Annamayya district were taken into custody as part of the preventive measures initiated by the police.

During interrogation, police gathered information about several other prominent bookies suspected of operating betting networks. The Visakhapatnam city police stated that special teams have been formed to identify and apprehend remaining suspects and those participating in illegal betting activities. Police officials reiterated that stringent action would be taken against those involved in cricket betting, emphasising their commitment to maintaining law and order and preventing financial fraud associated with illegal gambling during the IPL season.