Southern California Busts Criminal Gang Involved in Illegal Gambling

Reports about illegal gambling continue to abound across the United States. The people arrested in such operations often exceed the imagination in terms of the businesses they have been operating and the severity with which they have treated others. Now, Southern California has a response for one such organization.

Southern California Takes Aim at Illegal Gambling Gang

A raid by police authorities in Southern California has led to the arrest of 180 street gang members who were engaged with running illegal gambling parlors, among other things, such as guns and drugs.

A total of 30 gambling sites were shut down, many of which have been linked to violent crimes and even homicides in 2021 alone. The gang operated over 100 gambling machines and devices, as per officials’ reports.

The raid has resulted in scores of arrests and targeted the Westside Verdugo, a gang operating out of San Bernadino and known for its chokehold on the local community. However, this is the biggest operation by police against the criminal outfit to ensure that as many people involved with the gang as possible may be detained and cripple its operations.

Crippling the Westside Verdugo in One Fell Swoop

Numerous charges have been levied at the Westside Verdugo during the latest raid, including the operation of illegal gambling machines. San Bernadino police chief David Green revealed the arrests during a news conference featuring the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, and the county’s district attorney, Jason Anderson.

Green argued that the gang had been carrying out acts of violence on the community, prompting the police to issue a large-scale response. Most of the detainees have a criminal record, with 129 convicted felons. A total of 34 search warrants were executed in San Bernadino County a day before, on Wednesday, leading to the arrest of 31 individuals.

A total of 92 handguns and 19 assault weapons have been seized by the gang members, along with $300,000 in cash and large quantities of drugs. Earlier this year, a violent criminal gang was indicted on human trafficking charges, among others, and unprecedented brutality of foreign workers that were smuggled into the United States and forced to work across Florida, Georgia, and Texas from Central America.