Police cracking down on Jacksonville internet café operations seized about $2.5 million in “illegally sourced” cash during raids tied to recent racketeering arrests, Sheriff T.K. Waters said Wednesday.
The haul was “truly astonishing,” Waters said in a news conference about raids he said also netted 263 “ illegal gaming devices ,” from slot machines to desktop computers, as well as 52 guns.
Police are seeking to seize those items as well as vehicles and real estate including two houses, a trailer and a commercial building described as proceeds of a crime.
“We know there are a lot of illegal gaming operations,” the sheriff said, using TV cameras’ presence to deliver a message to other operators. “We know you’re out there. We know where you are and we’re watching. … The fact is, we are paying attention.”
The remarks were part of Waters’ first public statement about a chain of arrests made last week to cap an investigation that Jacksonville police opened in March 2023.
State and federal agencies also worked on the case and last week Florida’s Department of Legal Affairs under Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a civil suit seeking a court order for people the state described as part of a criminal racketeering group to forfeit property obtained with illegal money.