The China Super Buffet in Hinesville was closed for business Wednesday and Thursday after agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation descended on the building with federal search warrants.
Agency officials are not releasing specifics about the search, but spokesman Richard Rocha confirmed ICE and FBI agents, with the assistance of the Hinesville Police Department, "executed federal search warrants as part of an ongoing criminal investigation."
"While serving the warrants," he said, "ICE agents encountered and arrested 13 individuals for possible immigration violations."
The normally populated restaurant at 708 E. Oglethorpe Highway was empty the past two days. It is unclear whether the eatery was shutdown by federal agents or voluntarily by owner and manager, Dazhong Ouyang.
Calls to Ouyang's home went unanswered and messages left at the business were not returned.
A sign taped on one of the eatery's front windows said, "We will be open Friday."