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San Francisco officials announced last Thursday that the city has uncovered dozens of underground gambling dens that are masquerading as shops, all in an area with a notorious history of illegal activity and homelessness.
At least nine such pits have been closed or sued in the past 18 months in the Tenderloin, said City Attorney David Chiu.
He went on to say that these shops do illegal things including gambling, selling drugs, possessing firearms, smuggling stolen goods, and violating the city’s night security law, which prohibits shops from operating at night to prevent crime at night.
“These drug stores were working hard, and in other stores they were selling illegal drugs to themselves,” said City Attorney Chiu.
BLUE CITIES OPEN FOR DRUG DISTRIBUTION AFTER CONTINUOUS POLICY FAILS TO DESTROY THE SYSTEM.
A homeless person sleeps on the side of a street in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California, US, Thursday, April 14, 2022. (David Paul Morris / Bloomberg)
According to the announcement, these shops are said to have illegal gambling lines, the police confiscated a lot of gambling machines, up to 11 in one place, and cash registers. Law enforcement reportedly seized a large amount of cash, including more than $17,000 from one store.
Upon further investigation, police found methamphetamine hidden under a display shelf. Chiu said another raid revealed marijuana, vape cartridges, and hundreds of glass pipes and Brillo pads, items commonly used to smoke methamphetamine and crack cocaine.
A large cache of weapons, including a handgun with a full magazine, a high-quality Glock magazine, two additional handgun magazines and other ammunition were also found in the buildings.
DEM GOVERNORS STEP IN AGAINST CRIME AS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD THREATS
Homeless people consume illegal drugs at a camp near Willow St. in the Tenderloin district of the city on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 in San Francisco, CA. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Authorities said the stores were used to store stolen goods. It is reported that the police confiscated goods that are still being sold by supermarkets such as Walgreens, Sephora, CVS and Target. Direct sales included foreign cigarettes and 17 stolen iPhones displayed for sale.
Chiu proposed the Nighttime Safety Ordinance, a formal measure passed in 2024 as a two-year pilot program aimed at cracking down on illegal activity. He said he now wants to extend the curfew to continue fighting crime in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, a densely populated area known for its nightspots, tech offices and a history of crime and homelessness.
At the intersection of Leavenworth and Golden Gate Streets people go to work and socialize in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, California on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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“Most businesses make a positive contribution to our neighborhoods, but a few late-night shops, like the ones we’ve closed, attract significant crime,” he said. “The late night security law has been helpful in putting these stores on our radar and giving us more tools to shut down problem businesses.”
Supervisor Matt Dorsey said he hopes the neighborhood will eventually become “a less welcoming place for public drug use, drug dealing, and all drug-driven lawlessness, including illegal fencing that fuels rampant drug use.”
