Amid the ongoing 11th installment of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Police have pulled up their socks and ramped up their vigilance on bookie circles and online betting activity. In anticipation of the racket's key players moving assets and placing bets, police have already activated their network of informers to give any tip-off about the gambling/betting activity.
Police have put their patrolling teams on high alert mode to trace any illegal gambling/betting rackets underway and keep a close eye on the activities of the known betting syndicates. A police official said, "The bookies have a discreet way of operations and over the years they have managed to learn tactics to evade arrest.
An official said, under such circumstances, police have to largely depend on the network of informers and raid their premises in a bid to catch them red handed. While police patrolling teams have been deployed to search all secluded, abandoned places, hotels, restaurants and run background checks at all the recently rented out flats as the bookies usually operate from such places.
This season of the IPL that is being played in the UAE is deemed to be very crucial in the betting field as many have incurred losses due to the Novel Coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown, said a source. Moreover, a number of people, who arrange money to place bets on these matches only to repay debts or pump this money into their businesses.
As time has progressed, the cricket betting syndicate has also started operating through mobile applications, said an official. Explaining the modus operandi, the official said, "Bookies use integrated connectivity boxes equipped with 60 multi-connectivity options (MCBs) with cellphones, operating though laptops or TV sets to keep track of live updates."
During last year's IPL season, among various arrests, crime branch police had arrested five persons from Charkop in Kandivli (W) for illegal betting. Police had seized mobiles, laptops and other electronic devices used for getting, which was worth around ₹40,000
