Rs 2.25 crore in cash and 1,900 lottery tickets confiscated from a lottery vendor in Coimbatore

Chennai, Dec 25 (NationPress) The Tamil Nadu Police have confiscated Rs 2.25 crore in cash and 1,900 lottery tickets from the residence of Nagaraj (42), a cashier at a lottery agency located in Walayar, Palakkad district.

The operation was executed under the directives of Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police, K. Karthikeyan.

Karumathampatti Police undertook this action as part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution of prohibited lottery tickets in Tamil Nadu.

More than 30 raids were executed throughout suburban Coimbatore, including areas such as Pollachi, Valparai, Annur, and Karumathampatti.

To facilitate these raids, eight specialized teams were assembled.

During the search at Nagaraj's residence, authorities recovered Rs 2 lakh in banned Rs 2,000 currency notes.

Officials disclosed that Nagaraj was engaging in the illegal sale of Kerala government lottery tickets in the Tiruppur and Pollachi regions.

Despite a statewide prohibition on the sale of Kerala government lottery tickets outside the state, agents have been actively trading these tickets across Tamil Nadu.

These operations frequently involve betting on the final digits of the lottery numbers.

The police have indicated that the illegal lottery ticket trade is at an unprecedented high in both urban and rural sections of Coimbatore.

Suburban locales, in particular, have emerged as hotspots for these operations. Police sources have reported that illegal operators conduct lotteries several times a day based on results from Kerala and Nagaland lotteries.

Number-based lotteries that utilize the last one, three, or four digits of official Kerala lottery tickets are typically drawn at noon and 2 p.m.

Correspondingly, lotteries using Nagaland tickets are held at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m.

These rackets commonly disseminate betting numbers through WhatsApp groups, enabling participants to select and pay for their chosen numbers.

Upon the announcement of the official lottery results, these rackets declare their own results and payouts based on the winning numbers.

In November, the Coimbatore City Police, collaborating with the Coimbatore Rural Police, initiated a crackdown on illegal lottery operators.

During this operation, authorities seized Rs 45.8 lakh, apprehended 27 individuals, and filed six cases.

The police have identified numerous high-profile figures linked to the illegal lottery business and have pledged to intensify their efforts against the illegal lottery trade within the state.