WATCH | Fake IPL in Gujarat and Meerut manage to con bettors from Russia

Another amusing story has emerged from the lands of Western India after Uttar Pradesh police managed to nab a group of people organizing fake IPL tournaments in order to dupe international bettors.

A man by the name of Asif Mohammed, along with his aide Ashok Chaudhary, masterminded the entire operation while being based in Moscow. They hired men from Meerut and Gwalior to bring together some local cricketers as well as farm labourers and organized a cricket tournament for them. Posing as Ranji cricketers, they were paid 400 rupees to play a match. These games initially took place on school grounds in Meerut before expanding to Molipur, Gujarat, and the Sudha Cricket round in Hapur.

However, there is a big twist. The organizers were portraying these matches as being a part of the Indian Premier League, and accepting bets from international markets on these games. Mohammed and Chaudhary would send 40,000 to 50,000 rupees per game to their men in India, involving punters from the Russian cities of Moscow, Tver and Voronezh.

To make their operation seem legit, the organizers had hired commentators to mimic Harsha Bhogle, while setting up five high-definition cameras and streaming the games on YouTube. They went so far as to offer the acting umpires walkie-talkies to seem professional. However, the betting ring got busted when a Special Operations Group of Mehsana Police managed to nab the guilty from a  farm in Molipur.