CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Several businesses across the Coastal Bend are being shut down for illegal gambling.
Area law enforcement officials executed a raid Tuesday afternoon at several of the establishments, including in San Patricio, Kleberg and Nueces County.
Nine people were arrested from the raid and money confiscated is being counted.
The targets included a game room just outside Odem and an auction house and more.
The raid started around 4 p.m. and included agents with the Department of Homeland Security and the San Patricio County Sheriffs' Office.
Around 20 patrons were found inside the Odem game room and were released and not cited.
"Well one of the main reasons is that they are breaking the law in Texas by running a gambling establishment but two is from this experience we've seen that these places if left unchecked if you get enough of them then they turn into places that get robbed," said Sam Smith, San Patricio County District Attorney.
Tuesday's raid shut down several locations including a storage unit in both Bishop and Kingsville.