Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters announced details of its Operation Fish and Chips, which netted the arrest of a dozen people across Jacksonville.
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“This illegal operation was siphoning huge sums of illegal money to these criminals,” Waters said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The investigation began in March of 2023 and during the course of the investigation, detectives seized $2.5 million in cash, 15 vehicles worth $1.7 million total, two houses and one commercial building, and $1.2 million of jewelry and accessories along with 52 firearms. Waters said it was all purchased using illegal money.
JSO said there were four main ring leaders. Court documents refer to Robin Azzam as the boss. She previously worked for the city and unsuccessfully ran for Jacksonville city council in 2009.
Legal documents said Azzam’s husband, George Azzam, helped manage the establishments. Majd Dabbas allegedly manufactured the illegal gambling machines. Ryan Strickland is accused of providing illegal gambling software and helping deliver the machines.