Jason Kandel

Police Bust Gambling Operation in Koreatown

At least 35 people, men and women, were arrested Saturday during a raid at a business in Koreatown that required a SWAT team to use tear gas to clear the building, authorities said.

Officers served a search warrant at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the building in the 200 block of North Vermont Avenue near Beverly Boulevard, Officer Rosario Cervantes of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section said.

The warrant was in connection with alleged gambling, drug trafficking, sales of firearms and prostitution, she said.

A SWAT team was called to the scene and tossed smoke grenades into the building when one suspect refused to exit, Cervantes said. The suspect surrendered.

Inside the building officers found gambling machines, narcotics and money, the LAPD said.

The exact number of arrestees was not available, Cervantes said.

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