The Carteret County Sheriff’s Office busted what they suspect was an illegal video sweepstakes operation.

Wednesday morning’s raid was part of an undercover operation. We spoke to Sheriff Asa Buck on Wednesday about the incident.

Sheriff Buck said that deputies served the warrant Wednesday morning on Nine Foot Road near Newport and seized four machines and an ATM. The raid came after an undercover operation uncovered evidence of illegal gambling.

Sheriff Buck says they are actively in the process of trying to locate the owner of the establishment and says this was not a typical business open to the public.

As supposed to this place that’s not open to the general public. We do know they had customers that were coming and going there because the day we conducted our undercover operation there were other people playing the games at the same time we had someone inside.

Sheriff Buck says even though illegal gambling is not his top priority, deputies do crack down when they find a problem.

Its been a continual thing over the years just kind of watching waiting and seeing but anytime that we’ve ever planned to take an enforcement action we’ve have always led with a warning.

He said that even though people are voluntarily putting money in the machines that its not a victimless crime.

If someone goes and steals 4 or 5 thousands of dollars from a person they know a family member a loved one a neighbor and they go and steal that money and go and pump it into the gaming machines just so the proprietor of the business and sweepstakes industry can put money in there pocket that a victimless crime then I certainly say that it’s not.

Sheriff Buck said the illegal gaming machines operate with unlawful payouts and are based on chance rather than skill.