Officials from the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) busted an organised gambling racket at a private resort near Annavaram under Bheemili police station limits in the district in the early hours of Sunday. The SEB arrested 22 persons and seized ₹5.70 lakh from them, apart from playing coins, which were being used for gambling in place of money. The teams have also seized nine cars and mobile phones from them. Among the arrested, four are residents of Visakhapatnam, while the others are from East and West Godavari districts. The officials said that the gamblers involved in this activity every weekend. Based on credible information, five teams under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of SEB, S.V.V.N. Babji Rao and Assistant Enforcement Superintendent Srinadhudu, conducted the raid.
“The coins we found at the spot are representation of money. We have found around 300 coins of 10, 20, 50, 100 representations. We have learnt that a 50 coin represents ₹5,000, while a 10 coin represents ₹1,000. After winning these coins, they settle the accounts every week,” said Mr. Srinadhudu.
He said that they have also seized the bank account of an organiser which had about ₹12 lakh in it.
The enforcement agencies will initiate action against the resort management, he added. The case was handed over to Bheemili police for further investigation.
