Underground Casino Bust Nets 10 Arrests In San Jose: Police

SAN JOSE, CA — Three people face a laundry list of charges after police allege the trio operated an underground casino and drug house in South San Jose.

In a news release Monday, the San Jose Police Department said a months-long investigation by the Street Crimes Unit identified the three ringleaders, and officers worked with the MERGE Unit to execute a warrant at a home on Garden Avenue on Nov. 30.

Police allege the home was a front for illegal gambling and a base for a drug-selling operation. The early morning operation revealed nearly three dozen people inside the home, who were detained at the scene, and officers seized nine gambling machines, 44 grams of methamphetamine, multiple drug pipes and more than $2,000 in cash, police said.

Officers also discovered a stolen handgun that had been modified into a fully automatic machine pistol, along with another firearm, high-capacity magazine and ammunition.

Police identified the three suspects Monday as:

• Thuy Pham, 51, of San Jose
• Xuan Nguyen, 46, of San Jose
• Vu Nguyen, 37, of San Jose

Investigators said Pham and Nuan Nguyen did not leave the home during the operation and were later found hiding in a crawlspace.

The three suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of firearm-related offenses, drug sales, conspiracy, maintaining and operating a drug house, and operating an illegal gambling establishment. Police said seven other people found at the home were booked on outstanding criminal warrants.