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NYPD reports nearly a ton of weed, mushrooms seized at unlicensed Bronx pot shop
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Jul 21, 2024
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Courtesy NYC mayor's office
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Jul 21, 2024
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The NYPD and the city Sheriff’s office raided an illegal weed shop in the Bronx early Sunday, and reported they seized 1,300 pounds of cannabis, 200 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms drugs and 33 pounds of THC concentrate in what Mayor Eric Adams' office said was one of the largest drug busts at an unlicensed store this year.
The shop at 516 Timpson Place is an “after hours social club,” Adams said during an interview on WBLS. The mayor joined police as they raided the shop, which is one of hundreds across the city shuttered by authorities under an enforcement blitz that began in May.
“Illegal cannabis shops, it is siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from the legal businesses that are doing it the right way,” Adams said.
The NYPD and Sheriff's office in May launched “Operation Padlock to Protect” to shut down stores, including bodegas, caught selling unlicensed cannabis. The crackdown began a month after lawmakers in Albany passed legislation allowing the city to immediately padlock businesses caught selling illegal weed. The mayor's office said 680 stores have been padlocked through the effort.
Documents published by the city last month estimated there were more than 3,600 unlicensed cannabis retail shops across the five boroughs. There are 65 legal recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city, according to data from the state Office of Cannabis Management.
The NYPD and city Sheriff's office said a raid of an illegal weed shop in the Bronx led to the seizure of 1,300 pounds of marijuana.
Courtesy NYC mayor's office
New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda, who is spearheading the enforcement effort, said all sorts of stores are illegally selling marijuana, not just ones that advertise themselves as cannabis shops.
“The locations this week are both storefront distributors, distributors on a larger scale to other locations, and they also have consumption on their sites. The first one was a bodega, grocery store, with all intent and purposes, you didn’t know how much product they had in the back,” Miranda said.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in June by 27 businesses against the city to stop the city’s closure on unlicensed stores, arguing the enforcement is unconstitutional.
Adams said a growing concern for his administration is the packaging of cannabis edibles in candy products that are being catered for children and young adults. A shotgun and airsoft gun were also seized in Sunday night’s raid in the Bronx, according to the NYPD.
City officials said they’ve relied on tips from neighbors to help identify which stores are selling unlicensed weed.
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public safety
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Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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