Police raid Internet cafe over suspected illegal gambling

Los Angeles police arrested 23 people on misdemeanor charges in a raid on a Van Nuys Internet cafe suspected of hosting an illegal gambling operation, the LAPD said Friday.

Officers from the Van Nuys vice unit served a search warrant Thursday at the Talk & Win Internet cafe on Sherman Way after getting an anonymous tip that gambling was taking place there, the LAPD said in a statement.

Officers seized 42 computers and $9,200 in cash, and arrested 20 people on suspicion of gambling at an illegal facility and three on suspicion of possession of a gambling device.

“Unfortunately, these types of illegal gambling locations are found in low-income areas. These ‘businesses’ are illegal, period. They are a scam with very little payouts,” Van Nuys Vice Officer in Charge Sgt. Ron Fisher said in a statement.

The raid followed an operation earlier in the week in which the LAPD served search warrants on several suspected gambling houses in Koreatown. Those facilities were in private homes and had become a nuisance for the neighbors, police said.

To report gambling activity, call LA Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or go to lacrimestoppers.com.

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