12 Suspects Arrested in Bookmaking Case

A dozen people have been arrested on suspicion of participating in a $20-million-a-year bookmaking ring operating out of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, Los Angeles police and sheriff’s officials said Monday.

Although the sports-betting ring’s estimated annual cash intake was described as “mid-level” for Los Angeles County, Deputy Police Chief Mark A. Kroeker said that its use of “a sophisticated array of high-tech equipment,” such as facsimile and telephone-answering machines, was “unprecedented.”

The arrests Sunday culminated a four-month investigation and followed the searches of nine homes. The ring was harder than usual to crack because its business was conducted almost exclusively in Thai. A Thai-speaking sheriff’s deputy worked on the investigation and a civilian helped during Sunday’s searches and arrests, authorities said.