In a major bust by Visakhapatnam police, the local authorities have arrested as many as nine individuals involved in an online betting racket on Wednesday. The mastermind behind the racket was identified as K Kishore (26), hailing from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.

According to the police, Kishore had hired around eight workers and had set up the base in the city. The police also said that more than 800 people were involved in online betting through Kishore for the last few months in which he conducted transactions worth crores.

Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police Ch Srikanth told ANI, “Kishore paid Rs 10 lakh as a deposit to a bookie, identified as Rahul based in Chhattisgarh, and acquired ‘hosting services to run the online betting racket. As per their agreement, Kishore would keep 10 percent of the profits and the remaining would go to Rahul.”

“Kishore reports to Rahul. So far, several bank accounts being operated by the accused have been identified. These accounts have been opened at banks in various places such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra. It has been ascertained that transactions totaling Rs 377 crore have been done through these bank accounts in the last six months,” the Commissioner added.

The local authorities have seized as many as 10 bank accounts having a total deposit of around INR 72 lakhs. FIRs have also been registered against the accused under relevant sections.

The police said that bank employees also helped the bookies to open accounts in the name of genuine firms. “A bank staffer has admitted that these accounts were created by using the fake address under the names of genuine firms. Later, he handed over the bank credentials to the accused. The police are further investigating the role of the bank staff,” the Commissioner said.

“The two accounts were opened in connivance with a bank employee by tinkering with basic details such as address proof, without the knowledge of the original account holders. Business worth around Rs 4 crore was done through these accounts. On verification, it was found that the owners of the firm had no idea about the existence of these accounts,” the Commissioner concluded.