In a special drive, the Berhampur Police on Monday busted a syndicate involved in placing bets on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches and arrested seven persons in that connection.
Acting on a tip off, a team from the Baidyanathpur Police station, led by Sub-Inspector Vibhuti Sethy, raided a gambling den under its jurisdiction and arrested seven accused including the kingpin, identified as Jagannath Choudhary.
The police recovered Rs 8.63 lakh cash and 11 expensive smartphones from them.
As per reports, the betting syndicate was involved in placing the punters' money on on bet using the internet and the sopils were distributed through Hawala.
Choudhary has been remanded to police custody for five days during which the police expects to unearth more information about the operation of the syndicate through his interrogation.
Speaking to the reporters, Berhampur SP, Pinak Mishra said, “The betting racket was being operated in an organised way. A case has been registered at the Baidyanathpur police station in this connection. The confiscated mobile phones have been sent to the forensic lab to extract more information about the syndicate's transactions.”