Two women have been arrested on charges of an illegal gambling operation at a local business in Miami-Dade, Florida.
The two women, 52-year-old Kenia Landa and 60-year-old Beatriz Vichot, are facing charges that include bookmaking, possession of a gambling device, and acting as an employee of a gambling house. Landa has also been charged with renting for the purpose of operating a gambling house. The arrests were made after an undercover bust took place at the business front for the illegal gambling operation.
As reported by NBC Miami, the investigation was ongoing between August 13 and September 6, with Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives looking into alleged undercover gambling operations at Galaxy Arcade at 12218 Southwest 8th Street. This led to the bust on Saturday, September 6, where two undercover detectives entered the business with $50 each to gamble.
An undercover investigation into illegal gambling in Miami-Dade
They were able to use illegal gambling machines after being greeted by Vichot. She told them that they would have received an extra $10 to bet with if they had visited sooner, as part of a weekend promotional event. Vichot also mentioned plans to start bingo, if she could get 10 customers.
One of the detectives would later be paid out by Vichot, while Landa was seen by the pair of undercover officials paying out cash to other customers on the premises. Other detectives then executed a search warrant on the business, culminating in the arrests of both Landa and Vichot.
One of the detectives was later paid out by Vichot, while Landa was seen paying out cash to other customers, the reports said. Records show Vichot paid bond on Sunday, while Landa appeared before a judge who set her bond at $3,650.
“It is of note that Galaxy Arcade serves no legitimate purpose other than facilitating illegal gambling with cash payouts,” the reports from law enforcement said.
Such illegal operations are in place around the world, from examples like this one in the US, to the UK and across to Thailand.
Featured image: Miami-Dade Corrections
