A St. Petersburg store was raided Thursday after police said they determined drugs were being bought in the store.
The raid happened at 2 p.m. at the Fat Boys Deli, located at 2680 5th Ave. S, following a months-long undercover operation into allegations of illicit activity.
Police said they had received several complaints and tips from the neighborhood about drug activity at the store. Detectives said they determined that a customer who knew the right code word would be taken into a back room to buy drugs, mostly marijuana and crack cocaine.
During the search, officers found stacks of empty plastic bags used to store drugs, a stolen gun and several rounds of ammunition.
Police said they have received 57 calls for service at the business in the past year, and that on April 15, police sent a warning letter to the store, informing the owners it had become a nuisance to the neighborhood. Since then, police said they have documented drug activity.
Several people are being questioned, and arrests are pending.
Detectives found a loaded firearm hidden underneath lottery tickets, behind the cashier stand that had been stolen in 2012 in St. Petersburg. Officials are doing follow-up investigations on the gun.
The St. Petersburg Police Department will seek to bring the store before a Nuisance Abatement board for a hearing, due to being warned previously about the nuisance at the property on April 15, 2015. A hearing could result in the store receiving fines, or being closed down.