New Delhi: Indian police is cracking its whip at bookies, who are betting illegally on the cricket World Cup in South Africa and who made a killing when the host nation crashed to the West Indies, newspapers said on Tuesday.

Bets worth Rs 1.5 million ($ 312,500 dollars) placed on Sunday when South Africa took on the less fancied West Indies in the opening rubber, they said.

The Indian Express newspaper said police had arrested two bookies and recovered three mobile phones, a television set and a diary, which listed bets worth Rs 320,000 ($ 6,660).

"Both are small players who used to run the racket with the help of their kingpins in Mumbai," the Western commercial hub, the daily quoted police as saying.

The rates were fixed by people in the Gulf Emirate, Dubai, and passed on to India, the report said.

Indian police say the betting business during the World Cup is worth around Rs 100 billion ($ 2 billion).

The Hindustan Times newspaper said police was planning large-scale raids to unearth betting rackets and bookies across India.

Copyright AFP 2001

Extras:
Zimbabwe agony indeed a tearful affair: Hussain