Four people were arrested and thousands in cash was seized during two gambling raids in Jefferson County, the sheriff's office said.
According to a news release, the operation late Tuesday — a joint effort among the sheriff's office, the Tri-County Drug Task Force and the Pine Bluff Police Department's vice and narcotics division — also led to the removal of 77 motherboards from illegal gambling devices.
The raids were reportedly conducted at two locations: one in the 8200 block of Highway 63 South in Jefferson County and one in the 3500 block of West Sixth Avenue in Pine Bluff.
Authorities said 20 patrons were cited on misdemeanor betting charges during the two raids and $4,756 was seized.
At the location outside Pine Bluff, Zachary Smith, 28, was arrested, according to the news release. He faces a felony charge of keeping a gambling house.
Henry Gipson, 69; Joyce Moore, 57; and Frankie Jemal Shaw, 35; were arrested in the second raid on keeping a gambling house charges, the sheriff's office said.
All four were taken to the Jefferson County jail, where they remained Wednesday afternoon. Bail had not been set for any of them, records show.
"Other establishments said to be operating will soon be visited, as these investigations are ongoing, and we will not stop until the message that gambling is illegal is clear to all those who dare try," sheriff's office Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr. said in the release.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
