Virginia: police raid vape shops over illegal gambling
Police in Virginia have raided two vape shops and arrested four people in the past month over accusations of gambling violations.
US.- Police in the US state of Virginia are investigating allegations of illegal gambling at vape businesses.
In the latest of two raids in the last month, officers arrested two people at a shop named Dragon Vapes and seized illegal gaming stations, $5,000 in cash and computers, according to local news reports.
Jimmie W. Hicks Jr. of Davie County was charged with possessing illegal gambling devices and Monika S. Torrence of Norfolk was charged with being an accessory to illegal gambling activity.
At the beginning of the month, Virginia police had raided Lucky Vape Lounge, arresting two people and seizing gaming stations, computers, and about $1,600 in cash.
It was reported that the property held a Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) licence which allowed them to operate up to eight gambling terminals, but that there were allegedly more than eight on the site.
Ann P. Barker and Major J. Riley III were each charged with possessing illegal gambling devices, while Riley was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
Police said in a statement: “The Norfolk Police Department is continuing their efforts to identify illegal gambling activities taking place inside of businesses and encourages the reporting of all suspicious activity by calling the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or submitting a tip through the P3Tips mobile app.”
Virginia is not the only state cracking down on illegal gambling operations. Back in February police in California arrested 70 in a raid on an illegal gambling outfit disguised as a furniture store in Anaheim.
