Hyderabad: The local police busted the gambling racket in Thailand on Monday. Local media reported that 93 gamblers, including 83 Indians, were arrested at a luxury hotel in Pattaya. Chikoti Praveen, a casino organiser from Hyderabad, was also among those arrested. They were arrested by the police during an early morning raid at the Asia Pattaya Hotel in the Bang Lamung district of Thailand.
A large number of gamblers were playing games when the police raided the hotel premises. On seeing them, the accused tried to flee from the spot, but the police surrounded them. A total of 93 persons were arrested, including 83 Indians, six Thais and four Myanmar nationals, according to media reports.
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Police seized Rs 1.60 lakh Indian currency, gambling chips worth Rs 20 crore, 92 mobile phones and eight CCTVs from the accused. Police estimated that around Rs 100 crore of gambling was going on in this hotel. It seems that this gambling gang was discovered when the police searched the hotel on a tip-off from the intelligence department. The police there disclosed that all the equipment used for the gambling was brought from India and further investigation was going on.
It may be recalled that casino organiser Chikoti Praveen Kumar and his aide Madhava Reddy appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in August 2022. The ED on July 30 raided the farmhouse of Chikoti Praveen Kumar at Kadtal in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, and other places. On July 29, Chikoti Praveen’s residence at IS Sadan of Hyderabad and Madhav Reddy’s residence in Boinpally was raided by the investigative agency. The Enforcement Directorate noticed that Chikoti Praveen, along with others, was organising a casino for VIPs in Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
