11 arrested for selling narcotics, alcohol at an illegal nightclub in Westchester
MIAMI – Eleven people have been arrested and are facing a host of charges in connection with a restaurant that was illegally operating as a nightclub, the Miami-Dade police said Wednesday.
"There were a lot of young waitresses, they're the ones that actually distributed the narcotics," explained Miami-Dade PD Sgt. Eddie Pares about an alleged illegal nightclub dismantled on October 7.
"This location was in a strip mall. It masqueraded as a restaurant. In reality, it was a nightclub that harbored illegal drug activity and illegal sale of alcohol," Pares added.
He indicated that after receiving numerous complaints from various "confidential informants," the gang unit from the Miami-Dade Police Department initiated their investigation in May of 2022 and undercover cops started visiting the location. Apparently, the nightclub, located at 7850 Coral Way in Westchester, had been operating for almost two years next to Corvina, a seafood restaurant.
"It's an afterhours club. It would begin in the wee hours of the night – one, two in the morning," said the sergeant.
Adriana Velazquez, who works at the dry cleaners in the same strip mall, told CBS4's Ivan Taylor people who started working early in the area faced a nightmare.
"One time we saw a drunk with a gun arguing with another man. We feared a shooting could have possibly occur here," she said. "We feel relieved now."
Along with the arrest of 11 people, including the owner identified by police as 37-year-old Dariel Morejon, undercover cops confiscated cash, knives, guns and illegal drugs: cocaine and ecstasy.
When Sgt. Pares was asked about how the drugs were allegedly sold to customers, he said, "The undercover would ask a waitress… she would go to one of the security guards, they would provide the narcotics and get the money. Then, the proceeds of the that sale would be given to the owner of the establishment."
Six men and five women ended up behind bars. It is unclear how many of these individuals is now out on bond.
Miami-Dade PD is asking the public if they were victims or witnesses of the any illegal at the infamous club, to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.