Cyber Police in Odisha’s Ganjam district have busted an alleged online betting and fraud network that was operating from rented houses and using large numbers of bank cards, SIM cards and digital accounts.
Three accused have been arrested in the case. Police seized 78 ATM and debit cards, 86 SIM cards, 16 bank passbooks, 14 smartphones, two laptops, a Chromebook and several documents during the operation.
The arrested men have been identified as Satrughna Kumar Pandey of Jharkhand, Dharmadas Manikpuri of Chhattisgarh and Jagadish Sethi alias Suraj.
Police say the group allegedly operated and promoted multiple online betting platforms while collecting money from users with promises of high returns.
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Rented houses allegedly used as betting control rooms
The investigation began after police received information that several youths from outside Odisha were staying in rented houses in the Gajapati Nagar and Palurgada areas under Rambha police limits.
A Cyber Police Station team raided the locations and detained two accused. Two others allegedly escaped during the operation.
Police later traced Jagadish Sethi using mobile-phone information and arrested him from the Chamakhandi area.
The devices seized during the raids allegedly contained login credentials and transaction information connected with several online gaming and betting platforms.
Police named platforms including Reddy Play 11, Hush 777, 100 Panel and Fairplay among those found on the accused devices.
The case was registered on September 19 following a complaint lodged by Inspector-in-Charge Priyanka Behera.
Why 78 ATM cards and 86 SIMs matter
The large number of ATM cards, SIM cards and passbooks is now a major focus of the investigation.
Police say the seized mobile phones contained PAN card details, Aadhaar information and bank-account data belonging to different individuals.
Investigators will now have to determine whether all those accounts belonged to the accused or whether some were so-called mule accounts.
A mule account is a bank account used to receive or move money on behalf of someone else.
Fraud and illegal betting networks often rely on multiple accounts because large numbers of small transfers are harder to trace than money flowing through a single account.
The same principle applies to SIM cards.
Multiple SIMs can be used to create messaging accounts, register betting IDs, communicate with users and replace numbers that are blocked or flagged by platforms.
The number of seized financial instruments therefore suggests the alleged operation may have extended beyond the three arrested accused.
Police probe identity documents and financial trail
Ganjam Police are now conducting forensic examinations of the seized phones, computers and storage devices.
Investigators want to determine the volume of transactions, identify additional people involved and establish how money moved between betting accounts and bank accounts.
The recovered identity documents may also reveal whether personal data was used to open or operate accounts without the knowledge of the people named in those records.
That issue has become increasingly common in cyber-enabled financial crime.
Criminal networks sometimes recruit people to “rent” bank accounts in return for small commissions. In other cases, account holders may not fully understand how their accounts will be used.
Whether that occurred in the Ganjam case has not yet been established.
Similar betting syndicates have spread across states
The structure described by Ganjam Police resembles online betting investigations in several other states.
In Chhattisgarh, courts have dealt with large betting networks involving dozens of accused, multiple states and extensive seizures of mobile phones, ATM cards, passbooks and laptops.
A Chhattisgarh High Court order in August described one investigation involving a betting syndicate operating across Kolkata, Guwahati, Dehradun and Raipur. Police had arrested 23 of 32 accused and seized numerous financial and electronic devices.
Another Chhattisgarh case this year involved applications such as Silverbet777 and other betting platforms. Investigators alleged that operators supplied user IDs, collected commissions and moved gambling proceeds through bank accounts spread across a wider network.
Those cases show why local betting raids can quickly turn into interstate financial investigations.
In Ganjam, the presence of accused from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh has already given the case an interstate dimension.
Police have not yet disclosed the total amount allegedly collected or the number of people who may have lost money.
The next phase of the probe will depend heavily on bank records, device forensics and the identities linked to the 78 cards and 86 SIMs.
What this means for you: Online betting platforms promising guaranteed or unusually high returns should be treated as a major red flag. Never allow another person to use your bank account, ATM card, SIM or KYC documents for betting or payment transfers, even in return for commission.
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