Deputies arrested three men Thursday following a multi-agency undercover investigation into illegal gambling in Hall County. After executing search warrants, authorities arrested the suspects at three different convenience stores stretching from the north to south end of the county.
The investigation was led by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit (SIU). Arrested were:
- Harun Ur Rashid, 63, of Buford, at a store in the 5800 block of Lanier Islands Parkway.
- Zafar Iqbal Ranjha, 61, of Flowery Branch, at a business in the 5400 block of GA 13/Atlanta Highway.
- Shajumon Philip, 58, of Marietta, at a store in the 4400 block of GA 365/Cornelia Highway.
Officials say the three men operated stores with gambling machines that paid players in cash. SIU charged each of them with commercial gambling, which is a felony. They also charged them with keeping a place of gambling, a misdemeanor.
Deputies booked the suspects into the Hall County Jail. A judge set their bond at $7,000 each. Ranjha and Philip bonded out of jail Thursday. Rashid was still in jail as of early Friday.
Hall County patrol and warrant deputies assisted SIU with its investigation, along with Flowery Branch police officers and inspectors with the Georgia Lottery Corporation Coin Operated Amusement Machines (COAM) Division.
The sheriff’s office says the cases are still under investigation, but no further arrests are expected.
