Betting racket linked to Goa busted in Gurgaon

New Delhi: The income-tax investigation wing has busted a betting racket operating from a residence in Gurgaon. The wing has recovered mini telephone exchanges, 27 mobile phones, dish antennas from the premise situated in DLF Phase-2.

The revelation follows a probe into suspicious transactions by a casino 1,800 km away in Goa. Apart from the house in an upscale locality of Gurgaon that appeared to be serving as the headquarters of the betting racket, tax officials also conducted searches in Goa, Delhi, Noida and Kolkata.

Sources said the team had seized cash in excess of Rs 2 crores besides jewellery and an unspecified amount of foreign currency.

In the hours after the raid, sources said the businessman at the centre of the racket had spoken about earning Rs 90 crores from this enterprise.

“This is the most sophisticated betting racket that I have ever seen,” a senior tax official said.

“After initial examination of the accused, the information was passed on to the DGP, Haryana and subsequently the premises along with the betting gadgets and the accused handed over to the Gurgaon Police for further investigation,” an IT official said. According to the Gurgaon police, a case has been registered against the owner of the house by the police.

So far, the department has successfully collected evidences of unaccounted income of more than Rs 100 crores. The I-T department is expecting that this multi-city cricket betting racket is active in other cities as well. “In the raid, the officers have recovered two briefcases containing mini telephone exchanges with 27 Nokia mobile phones, smart phones, laptop, two big dish antennas, one modem, one high mast antenna and a generator back up,” official said.

The investigation wing of the income-tax department in Goa had carried out the operation.