KATHMANDU: A gang that rented two houses in Lalitpur and transferred a large sum of money to India for online gambling has been busted.

A team from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office raided the gang on Saturday night, arresting one Indian national and 14 Nepalis.

During the operation, police revealed that the online gamblers were depositing and withdrawing money through an Indian bank.

The arrested individuals include 22-year-old Indian citizens Ajit Kumar, Mukesh Mandal, Manoj Kumar Bajaj, Sumit Khatri, Prawat Kumar Sah, Om Prakash Khatri, Ravi Prakash Bishwakarma, Ravi Abhishek Ojha, Shivam Pandey, and Manoj Kumar. The Indian citizens hail from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Additionally, 14 Nepalis involved in online gambling were also arrested. They are Tanka Bahadur Pachai, Tej Bogati, Laxman Bista, Abinash GC, Hari Bahadur GC, Samir Khadka, Bikram Pachai, Ashok GC, Bhishma Wali, Hemanta Lohani Gautam, Gopal Bista, Sujan GC, Hemant Dhami, and Rabin Bista.

Most of the arrested Nepalis are from Pyuthan.

The group had rented two houses in Sanepa, Lalitpur Metropolitan City-2, where they set up an office.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ramesh Kumar Basnet, head of the office, stated that they were found to be engaged in professional online gambling.

According to Basnet, the gang was using more than eight betting applications to gamble online.

They were contacting Indian agents through WhatsApp for betting activities.

The arrested individuals were involved in both online and offline gambling, depositing and withdrawing winnings from various bank accounts in India.

During the initial investigation, police discovered that the arrested individuals had conducted transactions worth Rs 3.47 billion, Rs 3.65 billion, and Rs 612 million.

In their statements, the arrested individuals admitted to gambling online for the past six to seven months.

They had rented a house in Sanepa for Rs 160,000 and another for Rs 120,000 to facilitate the online gambling operations.

SSP Basnet mentioned that the gang had employed Nepali workers at a monthly salary of Rs 30,000.

The arrested individuals have been sent to the District Police Complex, Lalitpur, for further investigation under Section 129 of Chapter 5 of the Criminal Code 2074, which prohibits gambling and speculation, as well as the Foreign Exchange Act 2019.

Police have seized various items from the two houses, including 57 mobile phones, 13 laptops, 34 ATMs, 88 SIM cards, 12 checkbooks, 8 Indian Aadhaar cards, and 6 passports.