Hyderabad: In a crackdown on illegal online cricket betting networks, the cybercrime police on Wednesday arrested four persons from the Charminar area for allegedly supplying SIM cards to betting organisers operating from Dubai.Police said the accused had so far supplied around 250 SIM cards that were used to run and promote betting operations. The arrested persons were identified as Mohammed Syed Uddin alias Farid, Mohammed Tajuddin, Mohammed Younis and Mohammed Ayub. During questioning, Farid told police that he had earlier worked in a company in Dubai that was involved in promoting cricket betting. Police said that after Farid returned to India, his employer asked him to arrange SIM cards for the betting business and promised him money for the task. Farid then contacted the other accused, who procured SIM cards using the names of their family members and friends. According to investigators, Farid later returned to Dubai and handed over the SIM cards to Mudassir, who allegedly played a key role in organising the betting network. Farid was reportedly paid ₹1,200 for each SIM card he supplied. Meanwhile, cybercrime police identified and blocked 124 social media profiles that were promoting cricket betting through 539 advertisements. The investigation began after a Hyderabad resident lodged a complaint stating that he had invested ₹1.5 crore after seeing one such betting advertisement online and was subsequently cheated. Based on his complaint, police traced the network and arrested the four accused.
