16 held for online gambling in Ctg

Police busted a gambling syndicate at the city's Riazuddin Bazar Pakhir Goli area and arrested 16 gamblers -- including three "ringleaders" -- on charge of online gambling yesterday morning.

Among the arrestees, Mithu, Rubel, and Shipu are ringleaders of the syndicate, police claimed, adding that they ran betting worth almost Tk 1 crore every month and gave out loans to gamblers. The deals were done in US dollars as they took place on an international gambling website.

Tipped off, a team of Kotwali police raided an eatery at Riazuddin Bazar's Pakhir Goli in the dead of the night and arrested them while they were gambling on their mobile devices, said Shah Md Abdur Rauf, additional deputy commissioner (ADC),  Chattogram Metropolitan Police.

"The accused are of different professions. They spend around Tk 5,000 to 10,000 every day on 'bet365.com', an international gambling site. After winning in digital dollars, they cash out in Bangladeshi currency," said the ADC.

The drive was led by Sajal Das, SI of Kotwali Police Station. The SI told The Daily Star, "Under the guise of an eatery business, the syndicate ran the betting ring for a long time. The ring pauperised many young people and their families through illegal gambling."

"They maintained contact through imo, WhatsApp and other communication apps," said the SI.

ADC Rauf said a case was lodged with Kotwali Police Sation under the Digital Security Act in this connection, as the gambling was done through digital devises.