Miami Police Under Investigation For Protecting Gambling Ring, Identify Theft, And Tax Scams

As a two-year investigation by the FBI and police department's internal affairs comes to a close, ten allegedly crooked Miami cops will likely wind up behind bars.

Miami-Dade Police were monitoring a suspected gambling operation in Liberty City when they noticed a rotating shift of six off-duty City of Miami police officers protecting the storefront, reports the Miami Herald.

The officers were allegedly protecting the gambling outfit from being robbed by local gangs and acted as bodyguards as the gambling money was transported, according to CBS Miami, who described the cops' involvement as a sort of "armored car service courtesy of the city of Miami." Watch the video above.

Local 10 reports that one of the six officers was already relieved of duty on Tuesday.

Four other officers are reportedly under investigation for identity theft and tax refund scams. None of the ten officers' identities have been released.

Yet FBI spokesman James Marshall told HuffPost Miami, "The FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations."

City of Miami officers are often at the center of corruption headlines.

A City of Miami police sergeant was recently indicted on nine felony counts, including civil rights violations, conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute crack cocaine, obstruction of justice, and making false statements.

After the Sun Sentinel reviewed SunPass records of local police cruiser activity, Miami police are investigating eight of their officers who played fast and loose with their shifts -- one arriving three hours late repeatedly.

In September, a City of Miami officer was fired one year after being pulled over for speeding at 120 mph by Florida Highway Patrol.

The department is still being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for the 2010 fatal shootings that killed seven black men, five of which were unarmed.