Despite heightened surveillance along the interstate border, the illicit trade of banned lottery tickets from Kerala into Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district shows no signs of stopping. Local police have been engaged in a persistent battle against this network, recording hundreds of cases and making significant seizures of tickets and cash throughout 2024 and 2025.
Major Seizures and Arrests in the Crackdown
The scale of the illegal operation is substantial. In 2025 alone, the Coimbatore district police confiscated 37,406 banned lottery tickets with an estimated value of Rs 14.87 lakh. Enforcement action was robust, with authorities booking a total of 691 cases under the Tamil Nadu Lottery Regulation Act. The Coimbatore rural police wing arrested 723 individuals involved in selling the prohibited Kerala lottery tickets and seized Rs 6.04 lakh in cash from them.
The previous year saw even larger cash hauls. In 2024, police seized 62,791 banned tickets alongside a staggering Rs 2.25 crore in cash. A notable raid occurred on December 24, 2024, when the Karumathampatti police searched the residence of one Nagaraj (42) in Balaji Nagar. The search yielded 1,900 banned Kerala lottery tickets and Rs 2 crore in cash. Interestingly, over Rs 2 lakh of this seized money was in now-discontinued Rs 2000 denomination notes. Nagaraj, who worked as a cashier at a lottery shop in Walayar, Palakkad district, Kerala, was arrested for selling tickets in Coimbatore and neighbouring Tirupur districts.
Police Strategy and Special Drives
Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police, K Karthikeyan, outlined the police's targeted strategy. The force has categorised illegal sellers into a hierarchy: retailers, agents, dealers, and kingpins. "We focus on agents and dealers who deal in large quantities. It does not mean that police will allow retailers to illegally sell lottery," the SP clarified. He attributed the persistent issue to the district's proximity to Kerala, with many frequent travellers purchasing tickets there for resale in Tamil Nadu, some making trips solely for this purpose.
To curb the sales, police executed two major special drives on December 8 and December 31, 2025, across all six sub-divisions in the district. This intensive operation resulted in the seizure of 2,663 lottery tickets, Rs 26,000, and 11 mobile phones. Furthermore, 60 cases were filed and 64 people were arrested. The SP confirmed plans for more such drives to disrupt the illegal lottery trade in Coimbatore.
Rampant Sales and Victim Reluctance
A senior police official from the Coimbatore district police highlighted that the sale of banned tickets is particularly rampant in border areas like Anaikatti and Meenatchipuram, as well as rural pockets including Perur, Peryianaickenpalayam, and Valparai. The official also revealed a troubling pattern where winners are often cheated. There have been instances where individuals, promised prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, never received their money.
Compounding the problem is the victims' reluctance to approach the police. Since both buying and selling lottery tickets are illegal in Tamil Nadu, those who lose money in such scams are often unwilling to report the crime, fearing legal repercussions themselves. This silence further emboldens the smuggling networks, allowing them to operate with relative impunity in certain areas.
