21 detained after Santa Ana police raid cyber cafe

Santa Ana police on Wednesday raided a cyber cafe that investigators say featured illegal gambling machines and attracted a variety of illicit activity.

With a search warrant in hand, officers raided the Lucky 999 Cyber Internet Cafe at 1314 N. Grand Ave., just off the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, about 6 a.m., said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

"About a year ago, we started receiving complaints from the community about this Lucky 999 Cyber Internet Cafe operating 24 hours a day," Bertagna said.

Neighbors complained about "criminal activity, gang members, weapons and narcotics," he said. "Over the last year we've taken down numerous people with weapons and narcotics, so today we were able to obtain a search warrant."

Officers detained 21 people in the cafe, with several taken down to the police station for further questioning, Bertagna said. Police also confiscated 19 machines, he said.

Code enforcement officials will red-tag the business, Bertagna said.

CNS contributed to this story