<p>Chetan BC: For the first time, Bengaluru police have uncovered a network of agents working for casinos in Sri Lanka and other countries, suspected to be linked to cybercrime kingpins or running cybercrime rackets themselves. </p>.<p>These agents—active in Karnataka, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad—are allegedly involved in money laundering. They promote casinos on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Telegram, a highly placed police source said. </p>.<p>"When a prospective customer clicks on the link, their location is tracked, and they are directed to an agent operating nearby," the officer told <em>DH</em>. </p>.Constables will get training in handling cybercrime cases: K'taka Home Minister Parameshwara.<p>The agents explain the available packages and collect payments. They also handle the logistics: travel to and from India, accommodation overseas, meals and, if requested, a companion of the customer’s preferred gender. </p>.<p>When the customer lands abroad, the casinos provides coins equivalent to the amount paid under the chosen package. </p>.<p>Initially, police were puzzled as to why anyone would travel abroad for gambling when they could simply go to Goa. A deeper investigation revealed the draw: foreign casinos have a win probability of 33%, compared to just 8% in Goa. </p>.<p>However, these agents are not registered in India, and there is no clarity on how money collected from customers is transferred to casinos abroad. </p>.<p>"We strongly believe that the money is converted into cryptocurrency and sent to handlers," the officer said. "This is nothing but money laundering." </p>.<p>Police now plan to write to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to probe the money-laundering angle. </p>.<p>A senior police officer supervising the case said several agents had been identified. </p>.<p>The network caught the police's attention during the investigation of a cybercrime case in southern Bengaluru. </p>.<p>An elderly couple, held under digital arrest, was duped of Rs 4.75 crore. In one transaction, the fraudsters asked the couple to transfer Rs 10 lakh to the bank account of a friend of Eshwar Singh, a man from Hyderabad. </p>.<p>Questioned by the police, Singh revealed that the money was a refund from a casino in Sri Lanka, where he had gambled a few months earlier. This led investigators to uncover links between the casino and cybercriminals, ultimately exposing the wider network. </p>.<p>New network When a customer clicks on a link, agents explain available packages and collect payments; also handle the logistics When customer lands abroad, casinos provides coins equivalent to the amount paid Foreign casinos are tempting as they have a win probability of 33 per cent, compared to just 8 per cent in Goa The link came to police's attention during the investigation of a cybercrime case in southern Bengaluru </p>
<p>Chetan BC: For the first time, Bengaluru police have uncovered a network of agents working for casinos in Sri Lanka and other countries, suspected to be linked to cybercrime kingpins or running cybercrime rackets themselves. </p>.<p>These agents—active in Karnataka, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad—are allegedly involved in money laundering. They promote casinos on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Telegram, a highly placed police source said. </p>.<p>"When a prospective customer clicks on the link, their location is tracked, and they are directed to an agent operating nearby," the officer told <em>DH</em>. </p>.Constables will get training in handling cybercrime cases: K'taka Home Minister Parameshwara.<p>The agents explain the available packages and collect payments. They also handle the logistics: travel to and from India, accommodation overseas, meals and, if requested, a companion of the customer’s preferred gender. </p>.<p>When the customer lands abroad, the casinos provides coins equivalent to the amount paid under the chosen package. </p>.<p>Initially, police were puzzled as to why anyone would travel abroad for gambling when they could simply go to Goa. A deeper investigation revealed the draw: foreign casinos have a win probability of 33%, compared to just 8% in Goa. </p>.<p>However, these agents are not registered in India, and there is no clarity on how money collected from customers is transferred to casinos abroad. </p>.<p>"We strongly believe that the money is converted into cryptocurrency and sent to handlers," the officer said. "This is nothing but money laundering." </p>.<p>Police now plan to write to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to probe the money-laundering angle. </p>.<p>A senior police officer supervising the case said several agents had been identified. </p>.<p>The network caught the police's attention during the investigation of a cybercrime case in southern Bengaluru. </p>.<p>An elderly couple, held under digital arrest, was duped of Rs 4.75 crore. In one transaction, the fraudsters asked the couple to transfer Rs 10 lakh to the bank account of a friend of Eshwar Singh, a man from Hyderabad. </p>.<p>Questioned by the police, Singh revealed that the money was a refund from a casino in Sri Lanka, where he had gambled a few months earlier. This led investigators to uncover links between the casino and cybercriminals, ultimately exposing the wider network. </p>.<p>New network When a customer clicks on a link, agents explain available packages and collect payments; also handle the logistics When customer lands abroad, casinos provides coins equivalent to the amount paid Foreign casinos are tempting as they have a win probability of 33 per cent, compared to just 8 per cent in Goa The link came to police's attention during the investigation of a cybercrime case in southern Bengaluru </p>