The Waco Police Department served a search warrant at the Rio Grande Game Room located at 901 N. 25th Street and have arrested two men.
Waco PD SWAT, Drug Enforcement, and SAFE units responded to the illegal gambling operation around 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
Sgt. Patrick Swanton with the Waco Police Department said the employees made the store look like it's a place to pick up snacks, soda and cigarettes, but when you walk in you can see that their main focus is eight-liner machines used for gambling.
"What we know is these kinds of game rooms bring crime to the neighborhoods, wherever they are located. We've had multiple citizens complain," said Sgt. Swanton. "We've worked everything from robberies to burglaries to shootings and stabbings and assaults. All sorts of criminal activity goes on at these."
Police arrested Shanabilh Yazun and Abdelfattah Al-Qab after the search warrant. Yazun was arrested for two counts of keeping a gambling place, and Al-Qab was arrested for a warrant out of Harris County.
Police also recovered mother-boards for 13 eight-liner gaming machines, surveillance equipment, gambling ledgers and $2,566 in currency.
Sgt. Swanton added that they're aware of a number of shops running these illegal gambling operations and they're actively working to shut them down.
Waco Police also said on Facebook that "If you operate an illegal gambling operation or illegal eight-liner game room, you will be seeing us in your future."
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