Illegal marijuana shop raided in Brooklyn

NEW YORK - The New York City Sheriff's Office, the NYPD, and the state's Office of Cannabis Management carried out a raid on a Brooklyn smoke shop accused of illegally selling marijuana.

FOX 5 NY visited the shop less than a month ago, where workers said they had nothing to hide. 

Authorities raided Big Chief, located on 3rd Avenue and 74th Street in Bay Ridge. The NYPD arrested two people while sheriff's deputies and Office of Cannabis Management enforcement agents seized boxes and bags of evidence.

"This is a danger to the community," Sheriff Anthony Miranda said. "When you start selling these products and have these areas that are both attractive to children and normal residents walking around — nobody really wants that in their neighborhood."

A New York City deputy sheriff and an enforcement agent from the state's Office of Cannabis Management gather products inside Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

A year ago, New York decriminalized recreational marijuana. The Office of Cannabis Management has been setting up the rules for retail licenses. 

However, in that time, despite warnings, weed shops like Big Chief have popped up all over the city, jumping the gun on retail sales. 

Boxes of products at Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

Bags of smoke products believed to be cannabis found inside a storage closet at Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

RELATED: Judge halts pot dispensary licenses in parts of New York

City Council Member Justin Brannan, a Democrat of Brooklyn, said that while he supports legalization, shops like Big Chief that are selling untested and illegal cannabis products without a license need to be shut down. 

"Look, if I sell untaxed cigarettes, that's illegal, right? If I sell liquor or I serve liquor or wine without a liquor license, that's illegal," Brannan said. "Right now, if you're selling recreational marijuana in a retail setting, it's illegal."

Bags of products confiscated at Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

In October, an official with the state's Office of Cannabis Management told FOX 5 NY that smoke shops and weed shops that jump the gun on retail sales of marijuana would not get licenses.

"Unfortunately, it's just very short-sighted. This industry is going towards legality, towards regulation," OCM chief equity officer Damian Fagon said. "And it will be a multibillion-dollar industry that they will not be a part of because of the mistakes that they're making right now."

Bags and jars of material believed to be cannabis seized at Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

Jars of products sold as cannabis at Big Chief, a smoke shop in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

Police officers guard the entrance to Big Chief, a smoke shop in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

A police officer escorts a man out of Big Chief smoke shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

A handcuffed worker from Blue Chief gets into an NYPD vehicle in Brooklyn, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)

A New York City Sheriff vehicle outside Big Chief in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (LLN NYC via FOX 5 NY)