Southern California smoke shop employee arrested for allegedly selling drugs, illegal gambling

A suspect has been arrested after the Riverside Police Department says they sold drugs, arranged illegal gambling, and sold tobacco to underaged customers at a local smoke shop.

Authorities say they received several complaints about possible illegal activities at the DTOWN Smoke Shop in downtown Riverside.

The investigation uncovered an illegal gambling operation that was impacting nearby businesses, according to Riverside PD.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and entered the store on May 9, where they uncovered illegal gambling, as well as narcotics sales.

A store employee allegedly had cocaine and an illegal firearm in their possession and was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of sales and weapons violations.

No further details have been provided about the suspect.

Anyone with additional information regarding this specific case, or about the other business areas is asked to contact the Riverside Police Vice Unit at RPDVice@RiversideCA.gov .

For those who wish to remain anonymous, you can download the Riverside Police Department’s “Atlas 1” mobile app and utilize the “Send a Message” feature to send us the information.  Our mobile app can be downloaded at APPLE or ANDROID.

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