Cricket betting racket operating from stadium busted by Mumbai Police, 5 held during IPL match at Wankhede stadium

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Mumbai Police on Monday said that its Crime Branch officials busted a major Cricket betting racket operating from inside the stadium and nabbed five people in connection with the case.

According to the Mumbai Police, the officials of Unit 6 of the Mumbai Crime Branch had initially received information regarding the betting racket being operated from inside the stadium and began to investigate the matter. The crime branch officials found that on April 16, during the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in south Mumbai, a gang of five people were likely to visit the stadium and pass on the ball-toball information to their accomplices through smartphones and using an app.

"The officials of the unit 6 of the crime branch laid a trap and visited the Wankhede Stadium, during the match, they found five people seated in the stadium who were constantly on the phone. The officials kept a close watch on the suspects and nabbed them once it was confirmed that they were part of the betting gang," an official said.

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Mumbai Police said that the crime branch officials found that the five suspects were constantly sending ball-to-ball updates and it is suspected that they were using it for betting purposes since the matches on TV are deferred for some time.

The police officials have also recovered 9 mobile phones, 5 match tickets, 3 sim cards, 2 debit cards, 1 passport, a Lucknow to Mumbai flight ticket and cash from them, the police said.

Those arrested by the crime branch were identified as Ajay Baweja, 40, Vivek Tiwari, 41, Manoj Narniwal, 37, Sumitkumar, 44, Zakiullah Khan, 39. They have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC, Gambling Act and IT Act. Further investigations are being done, the police said.