Gurgaon: Police busted an online betting-cum-cyber fraud racket operating from a flat in Sector 37D and arrested four persons, including two students. Investigators suspect the larger network may have roots in Dubai.Police recovered 15 mobile phones, two laptops, 15 ATM cards, 12 SIM cards, 11 cheque books and passbooks, seven payment boxes and a Wi-Fi router allegedly used to run online betting operations and route cyber fraud money.Investigators said the racket came to light while police were probing a separate work-from-home scam in which a resident was cheated through Telegram. During analysis of financial transactions in the case, cyber police traced a suspicious bank account linked to one of the accused, Kapil.“Three months of technical surveillance led cops to the Sector 37D flat. It was later found that transactions exceeding Rs 2.5 crore took place in a few months,” an investigator said.The raid was carried out under the supervision of ACP (Cyber Crime) Gaurav Fogat and Inspector Naveen, SHO, of Cyber Police Station South. “The accused were found actively operating laptops and mobile phones when the team entered flat number Z-16 on the third floor of Signature Global Society. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were operating betting activities through bookie IDs on ‘reddyanna888’, an online gaming panel,” ACP Fogat said.The accused were identified as Aditya, a resident of village Karidharini in Charkhi Dadri; Kapil, a resident of village Faizlipur in Mahendragarh; Sunny Chahar, a resident of village Gehri Khurd in Agra; and Suraj Rajput, a resident of Shanti Nagar in Mathura.Police said Aditya is pursuing graduation through distance education, while Kapil, who completed BBA from LPU Jalandhar, is currently pursuing Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).Police said Aditya was the main handler of the operation at the Gurgaon flat, while Kapil acted as the account holder managing the money trail. The four suspects had been staying here for the past month. Aditya allegedly came in contact with Kapil through his cousin.The other two accused, Sunny and Suraj, are former employees of an online grocery delivery application, police said.While police have initiated efforts to identify the creator and operators of the online platform, investigators suspect that the network behind the application is being operated by Dubai-based cyber fraudsters. Probe also found that the accused were in touch with a handler based in Jaipur.Explaining the modus operandi, ACP Fogat said advertisements for online gaming platforms were circulated through social media and messaging platforms such as Telegram to lure users. Interested users created IDs on the gaming website and transferred money through QR codes displayed on the platform.“The accused received money through QR codes and added points or coins to users’ gaming IDs. They earned nearly 20% commission from the transactions,” ACP Fogat said.During interrogation, the accused disclosed that bank account kits, SIM cards and QR codes were supplied through WhatsApp by another individual. Police said these were used to facilitate betting operations, financial transactions and cyber fraud activities.Investigators also found that the betting network was not limited to one sport and included cricket, especially IPL matches, tennis, poker and several other games.A case has been registered at Cyber Police Station South under relevant sections of BNS and the Haryana Prevention of Gambling Act. Police said further interrogation is underway to identify more members of the network and trace the complete money trail.“We have intensified action against organised cyber crime syndicates amid a rise in online fraud cases across the city,” ACP said.
