DULUTH, Ga. — Police said they busted an illegal gambling operation that was running inside a Duluth coffee shop.
Duluth police said their undercover officers were patrolling the shopping plaza off North Berkley Road when they saw lights on and activity inside the store around 3 a.m.
Officers said they grew suspicious.
"They observed from the window through the outside [that] they were actually in there playing cards, and money was changing hands," Maj. Don Woodruff with the Duluth Police Department said.
According to a police report, the officers also seized a laptop, three decks of playing cards, a gambling ledger and poker chips from the coffee shop.
Police aren't sure if the poker games are a regular occurrence at the Shanghai Cafe. But the report said within the ledger there were lists of patrons' names. Some owed money, some were in the positive.
The owner of the café told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh the whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Tran Truong said he runs a legitimate coffee shop. Truong said he opened the Shanghai Cafe about two months ago.
On Wednesday, Kavanaugh found customers drinking iced coffee. The owner said customers also play pool. But police said the game of choice early Sunday morning was poker.
According police warrants, officers arrested three men and one woman, who police said was the dealer.
Police charged Dung Duong, Shihchun Wang, Phuoc Nguyen and Joan Dang with misdemeanor gambling. They have bonded out of the Gwinnett County Jail.
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