Long Island cops raid 26 illegal weed stores in a week, seizing 15K products: officials
The countywide crackdown just began May 20 but has already seen 44 smoke shops or convenience stores raided and resulted in seven arrests and five businesses getting shut down permanently, according to police.
'We are not going to allow the proliferation of illegal marijuana shops in this county,' Suffolk Executive Ed Romaine told reporters at a news conference at police headquarters in Yaphank.
'Under the law, we not only padlock their business, but we seize all of their products,' Romaine added, saying the county will likely incinerate the seized products.
Police said the biggest busts so far came from raids on Cloud Nine V in Farmingville; Simply Green in Coram; Vape Guru in Bay Shore; and The Norm smoke shop in Patchogue.
Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina also revealed the raids found some of these storefronts selling illegal fireworks, magic mushroom chocolate bars from Colorado — and flavored vape pods to minors.
He told The Post that the police worked together with town officials from all over Suffolk County to identify locations that were possibly selling weed illegally.
'The places that we hit, we asked our precinct commanders and our elected townspeople to give us the spots that were the most problematic in our communities, and those are the spots that we targeted,' Catalina said of the raids.
Officials promised more raids to come.
'This isn't just about legality, it's more about safety,' said Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr., whose department worked in collaboration with police to conduct the raids.
'Products sold outside of regulated channels can be dangerous and untested,' said Toulon Jr., referring to THC vape products.
Officials said the operation will continue indefinitely — with dozens more shops already in their crosshairs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
LI's Suffolk county offering tax breaks to NYC companies who relocate if Mamdani becomes mayor
Forget, Florida — come out East! Suffolk County will offer tax breaks to Big Apple companies to relocate there if Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of New York City, the Long Island region's top official said Sunday. 'If Mr. Mamdani wins, I'm going to encourage many of the corporations that do business in New York City [to] come to Suffolk' about 70 miles east, County Executive Ed Romaine said on WABC 770 AM's 'Cats Roundtable' show. Advertisement Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine is urging New York City corporations to relocate to Suffolk if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor. Dennis A. Clark 'We're going to give them tax breaks. They're going to be able to do better,' Romaine told host John Catsimatidis. Romaine made his alluring pitch to CEOs after Catsimatidis told him that Florida officials are trying to recruit Big Apple CEOs to relocate their firms to the Sunshine State, where many New York transplants already live. Advertisement Romaine said there's no need to travel that far south. 'Come out to Suffolk,' Romaine said. Romaine, a Republican, said he doesn't believe that Mamdani, currently a 33-year-old state assemblyman representing Astoria and western Queens, has the experience and wisdom to run the nation's largest metropolis. Mamdani has proposed raising taxes on billionaires and corporations in the city. LP Media Advertisement He noted that Mamdani's proposed free-bus fare program for the city 'sounds great' — but said someone has to pay for it. Mamdani has proposed $9 billion in higher taxes on billionaires and corporations to subsidize such initiatives as free bus fares, expanded free childcare and more affordable housing. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'The taxpayers who pay the taxes, how much are they going to put up with?' Romaine said. Advertisement He said New York state is already suffering from an exodus because of the high cost of living that includes hefty taxes. Mamdani campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec responded in a statement to The Post, 'Working people are being pushed out of the city they built, and it's because of corrupt politicians like [former Gov.] Andrew Cuomo and [current Mayor] Eric Adams,' who are running against her boss in November. 'Zohran will make this city affordable, and deliver a quality of life that ensures New York City is a magnet for workers, businesses, and opportunity,' the rep said.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
NY authorities crack $2.5M drug smuggling ring, seize over 2K pounds of illegal weed : DA's office
Six people were arrested after authorities busted an unlicensed cross-country pot smuggling operation this week in NYC that included the seizure of more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana worth over $2.5 million. The suspects were using tractor-trailor-style trucks to bring the pot and various cannabis products from California to a SecureSpace self-storage unit in Maspeth, officials said Friday. From there, the goods would be divided and transferred to another storage unit, given to a distributor or sold directly to customers, authorities said. Advertisement Authorities seized more than 2,000 pounds of illegal cannabis products worth over $2.5 million that were smuggled into Queens from California, officials announced Friday. BritCats Studio – The shady enterprise had allegedly been going on since April. The joint investigation was conducted by members of the Queens DA's office, the Drug Enforcement Administration's New Jersey Field Division and the city Sheriff NYPD Cannabis Task Force. Nearly 2,000 pounds of THC flower, along with hundreds of pre-packed, one-pound weed bags, pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes and nearly 1,000 pounds of THC vape pens, were allegedly discovered Thursday after investigators executed various search warrants in Maspeth and Long Island City, the DA's office said. Advertisement Manhattanites Eduardo Lopez, 29, and Courtney Ferguson, 40; Erzhena Mitupova, 34, and Anna Migal, 47, both of Kew Gardens; 24-year-old Jose Carbajal Enamorado of Jackson Heights and 24-year-old Emerson Ramos Garcia of Bayside were all arrested after authorities alleged none were licensed to sell cannabis in New York. 'These types of THC products that are sold illegally very often lead to harm in our communities,' Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in response to the bust. Stephen Yang All six men were charged with first degree criminal possession of cannabis and ordered to return to criminal court on various dates in September and October by a Queens judge during their arraignments Thursday. Advertisement If convicted, they each face a potential maximum sentence of 2 ⅓ years to seven years in prison. 'These types of THC products that are sold illegally very often lead to harm in our communities. It is the reason that legal shops go through a rigorous approval process by the state,' Katz said in response to the bust.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
【話題】女子百米世界冠軍 Sha'Carri Richardson 前往全國錦標賽途中被捕
據美國媒體報道，7 月 27 日，就在俄勒岡州尤金市舉行的美國田徑協會（USATF）全國田徑錦標賽前幾天，奧運會接力賽金牌得主、25 歲的衛冕 100 米世界冠軍 Sha'Carri Richardson 在西雅圖塔科馬國際機場被捕並被短暫拘留。她被送往華盛頓州得梅因市的 SCORE 南懲教所；據了解，當局並未提出任何指控，Richardson 於第二天下午根據法院命令獲釋。 圖 / Getty 這位短跑運動員在全美錦標賽期間接受美國運動媒體 的採訪，但並未提及她被捕一事。 同時亦報道，Richardson 已退出全美錦標賽。而於 Richardson 疑被拘留的原因，直到目前仍未有更多資訊。 廣告 廣告 圖 / World Athletics 這並非 Richardson 第一次在旅途中惹上麻煩；2023 年初，她因與一名空中服務員發生爭執而被趕下美國航空的航班。2021 年，她獲得了東京奧運的參賽資格，但隨後在美國奧運選拔賽中藥檢中，被驗出大麻中的一種化學物質四氫大麻酚（THC）檢測呈陽性，被禁賽一個月。作為衛冕世界 100 米冠軍，Richardson 將自動獲得 2025 年世界錦標賽的外卡。 此文章由「香港運動筆記」最初發表於
