More than 2 dozen arrested in suspected gambling houses in Westminster

WESTMINSTER – About 25 people were arrested early Tuesday, March 5, after search warrants were served at two Westminster home suspected of illegal gambling.

Shortly after midnight, West County SWAT and Buena Park SWAT descended upon two houses, said Cmdr. Cord Vandergrift of the Westminster Police Department.

The homes were less than half-mile apart, with one on Treebark Circle and the other on Premier Avenue.

SWAT vehicles and officers in full gear entered the houses and pulled people out one by one. No one was injured during the raid.

Details about the gambling operation or what was found inside the houses were not immediately known.

Vandergrift said investigators had been monitoring the houses as for about two months.

He said the activity going on in and out of the homes often tips off police.

“A lot of the times, it’s the neighbors that call in and report the activity that leads us to the investigation and starts the investigation for us,” he said.