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Who said that Orlando strip clubs were tame?

ORLANDO, Fla. —


A month-long undercover operation at the Santa Fe Club, on Emeralda Road in Pine Hills, ended with the owner under arrest.

Agents spoke about the weekend raid. Deputies said the place caused a lot of trouble.

Despite all their efforts, it's still technically able to operate but only as a catering business, which is how it's licensed.

Deputies said Santa Fe was mostly catering to criminals.

Last month Santa Fe club owner Russell Mason said his business was taking heat for the slayings of three men.

"Nobody does anything about it. The only thing the sheriff can do is harass us," Mason said.

Sheriff's deputies did something about it and arrested Mason on charges of running an after-hours club licensed as a banquet hall.

Undercover video showed agents allegedly being peddled hard drugs.

The drinks flowed and strippers danced until daybreak.

"The club is definitely a nexus to crime and violent crime in this area," Capt. Jeff Stonebreaker of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Three deadly shootings have taken place in an adjacent parking lot this year.

"There would be no reason to come to this parking lot if this club wasn't operating," Stonebreaker said.

Over the past several months the owner constructed what amounts to a cage around the parking lot, complete with a barbed wire fence, four security gates and a blanket of surveillance cameras covering 50 angles.

"We're working close with the property owners to bring it back to our advantage, their advantage," Stonebreaker said.

While it's not a silver bullet, the Sheriff's Office said it hopes the raid helps to clamp down on criminal activity.

Legitimate businesses nearby are going out of their way to prevent anymore homicides.

They're hiring off-duty deputies to patrol the parking lots possibly as soon as this weekend.