Greater Noida: 8 arrested for running online betting and gaming racket

According to the police, victims were lured with small initial profits to build trust before being encouraged to invest larger amounts

Greater Noida: Police on Friday arrested eight people for allegedly running an online betting and gaming fraud from a flat locate in a residential society in Greater Noida’s Bisrakh area.

159 forged passbooks, 95 forged cheque books, 131 fake ATM/debit cards, 114 SIM cards, seven laptops, one tablet, 61 mobile phones and ₹39,670 in cash were confiscated from the flat in the society located in Bisrakh. (HT Photos)

The suspects, during police questioning, purportedly admitted that through a gaming app they used to promote cricket betting, casino games, aviator, roulette and other gambling activities, and would draw people via social media advertisements, said officials.

“Two suspects Ankit Singh, 24, and his wife Kirti Singh, 23 were operating the racket through an online betting app. They promised high returns to lure users into depositing money,” said Shakti Mohan Awasthi, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Central Noida).

The other arrested suspects were identified as Himanshu Kumar, 20, Chirag Jain, 21, Pratham Mishra, 22, Harshit Verma, 23, Ansh Kumar, 20, and Nitin Babu, 22, said officials.

According to the police, victims were shown small initial profits to build trust before being encouraged to invest larger amounts.

“The suspects used fake IDs to open multiple bank accounts. They used to first obtain other people’s identity documents and then used them to buy pre-activated SIM cards that were already registered under those individuals’ names. These SIM cards were then used to open the fraudulent bank accounts. All the money collected through the fraud was routed through these accounts,” DCP Awasthi added.

According to the police, a person known as “Leo”, identified as the alleged mastermind, remotely operated the gang via phone and directed how the fraud was to be executed. His actual identity has not yet been established, and a team is working to trace him,” said station house officer (SHO) (Bisrakh police station) Manoj Kumar Singh.

Police officials said on visiting the suspects’ flat they found several men and one woman sitting around a table operating mobile phones and laptops. A large number of mobile phones, bank passbooks, ATM cards and SIM cards were scattered around them.

159 forged passbooks, 95 forged cheque books, 131 fake ATM/debit cards, 114 SIM cards, seven laptops, one tablet, 61 mobile phones and ₹39,670 in cash were confiscated from the flat in the society located in Bisrakh.

“The exact final figure of the total money defrauded by this gang will not be clear until the analysis of all bank transactions is complete,” said SHO Singh.

“Local residents of the society had reported suspicious movements around a flat where seven to eight young men and one woman were living. Based on their information, a raid was conducted and arrests were made,” Singh added.

The suspects have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including 318(4): cheating, 338: forgery of valuable security, 336(3): identity fraud and 340(2): fraudulently or dishonestly using as genuine any document.