HYDERABAD: At least 83 Indian tourists, including Hyderabad-based gambler Chikoti Praveen, popularly known as PC in the casino circuit, were arrested by Thailand police early Monday for raking in over Rs 100 crore credits from a makeshift casino at Asia Pattaya Hotel in Bang Lamung district of Chonburi.
Telangana politicians, including a BRS leader and Medak district cooperative central bank chairman, Chitti Devender Reddy, were also among those detained. Chikoti, whose gambling ventures straddle Goa's Big Daddy to Nepal casinos to money-spinner cockfights in south India, had converted the Thai hotel's convention hall into a makeshift casino, where gamblers from Hyderabad were flown in on a 'gambling & tourism package'. A logbook with gambling credits of over Rs 100 crore were seized from the hotel hall, said Chonburi police chief Pol Maj-Gen Kampol Leelaprahphporn.
Chikoti is already facing a FEMA probe by Enforcement Directorate's Hyderabad unit for alleged foreign exchange violations in his casino business in India and Nepal. Chikoti's aide, Madhav Reddy, whose name had cropped up in ED's probe, was also arrested along with Chitti Devender Reddy. Many of those flown to Bangkok from Hyderabad told police they were told by organisers that gambling was legal at the Thailand hotel.
Speaking to reporters, Chonburi police chief Kampol said, tourists checked into the hotel along with local Thai men and women and converted the convention hall into a casino. Gambling equipment, including card dealers, were shipped from India. The tourists were playing card games - Baccarat and Blackjack - when police raided the hotel. Twenty-five sets of cards, Rs 1.6 lakh in cash, close-circuit cameras to keep vigil on gamblers, 92 mobile phones, iPad, three notebook computers, card dispensers and chips for cash were seized. Police revealed the casino live-streamed the gambling sessions via CCTV cameras to Hyderabad.
Chikoti and Madhav Reddy allegedly contacted a Thai woman, Sitranan Kaewlor, for organising the gambling trip for Indian tourists.
Each tourist was charged 50,000 Baht that include airfare, food, hotel stay and local transport. Chikoti and others reached the hotel on April 27 and were scheduled to return on May 2.
Six Thai locals and four Myanmar nationals were also detained for abetting illegal gambling.
An open credit account is created to buy gambling chips and some have credits of Rs 1.5 crore. The police crackdown at the Thailand hotel followed criticism that police were in hand-in-glove with illegal gambling dens, said sources.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times...
Read MoreSudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.
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