The Cyber Crime Cell of Surat Police has arrested two key suspects involved in an alleged Rs800 crore online betting scam. The accused—Jatin Thakkar alias John Raper (27) from Ahmedabad’s Naroda area and Deepakkumar Thakkar (24) from Surat—were detained at the Mumbai airport and later remanded to six days of police custody.
Earlier, the Cyber Crime Cell had raided a location in Surat’s Katargam area, leading to the arrest of five individuals: Meet Shah, Yash Shinde, Rushikesh Sapkal, Nilesh Solanki, and Pareshkumar Modi. They were allegedly linked to fraudulent online betting platforms. Since betting is illegal in India, the operation is being treated as a major financial crime.
According to officials, the network operated 149 bank accounts, with 417 complaints reported across India related to these accounts. Both Jatin and Deepakkumar had been on the run, prompting authorities to issue a Lookout Circular (LOC).
Investigators revealed that Jatin Thakkar created and managed multiple ‘mule accounts’—bank accounts used to hide illegal transactions. He allegedly processed money for nearly 50 online betting and gambling platforms, including Big Idea, OPS, Parimatch, 10C, HRB, Tengo, and WIZ45.
Meanwhile, Deepakkumar Thakkar reportedly handled collections from betting websites operating out of Bangkok (Thailand) and Vietnam.
Police seized four mobile phones and two laptops during the investigation. From these devices, authorities recovered details of 36 additional bank accounts, which were linked to 227 complaints filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. These accounts alone involved a fraud amount of ₹88 crore. Further investigation is ongoing.
