San Francisco officials have closed or sued at least nine Tenderloin storefronts that were secretly operating as drug markets, illegal gambling dens and fencing operations over the past 18 months. Authorities seized up to 11 slot machines at one site, more than $17,000 in cash, methamphetamine, hundreds of smoking implements, firearms with high-capacity magazines and stolen retail merchandise including 17 iPhones. City Attorney David Chiu credited the 2024 Nighttime Safety Ordinance with helping identify these operations and is seeking to extend curfew measures to SoMa.
San Francisco Shuts Down Nine Hidden Drug and Gambling Dens Posing as Convenience Stores
San Francisco uncovers nine secret drug and gambling dens disguised as convenience stores
San Francisco officials announced Thursday that investigators have shuttered or filed lawsuits against at least nine convenience stores in the Tenderloin after determining the storefronts were operating as clandestine drug markets, illegal gambling halls and fencing operations.
A person experiencing homelessness sleeps on the sidewalk in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, April, 14, 2022.(Getty Images)
Investigations and Enforcement
City Attorney David Chiu said the actions — taken over the past 18 months — followed mounting evidence that the locations hosted a range of criminal activity, including illegal gambling, drug sales, weapons possession and trafficking in stolen goods. Many of the stores also violated the city's Nighttime Safety Ordinance, a two-year pilot passed in 2024 that restricts late-night hours to reduce overnight crime.
Homeless people consume illegal drugs in an encampment along Willow St. in the Tenderloin district of downtown on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 in San Francisco, CA.
What Authorities Seized
- Gambling equipment, including up to 11 slot machines at one site and money-counting machines.
- Substantial cash, with more than $17,000 recovered from a single store.
- Drugs and paraphernalia: methamphetamine hidden beneath a display shelf, cannabis, vape cartridges, and hundreds of glass pipes and Brillo pads commonly used for smoking meth and crack cocaine.
- Weapons and ammunition, including a loaded firearm, a high-capacity Glock magazine and additional pistol magazines.
- Stolen retail merchandise still bearing price tags from national chains — officers seized out-of-state cigarettes and 17 stolen iPhones displayed for sale.
Chiu said the Nighttime Safety Ordinance has proven useful for flagging problematic late-night retailers and providing legal tools to shut down criminal operations. He is now seeking to expand the curfew measures to San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.
At the intersection of Leavenworth and Golden Gate Streets people all walk to work and hang out in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, California Wednesday January 26, 2022.
Most businesses contribute positively to our neighborhoods, but a handful of late-night retail establishments attract significant criminal activity, and enforcement has helped target those operations, Chiu said.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey added that the enforcement aims to make neighborhoods less welcoming to public drug use, open drug dealing and the illegal fencing operations that fuel substance abuse.
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