NYPD seizes 50 pounds of weed targeted towards minors from Brooklyn
BROOKLYN - NYC authorities seized 50 pounds of illegal cannabis from what they say is one of the city's largest unlicensed distribution centers in Brooklyn.
Investigators said that complaints from the community led them to search the center where they unveiled a $1 million illegal marijuana operation inside.
The shop is located on Avenue T in the heart of a residential area next to a nail salon on a block full of homes, families, and children.
"This location has an extensive amount of cannabis and other products," officials said.
The shop also had a printing press inside where they were printing illegal product labels.
Most of the packaging inside the Sheepshead Bay shop had colorful and candy-like displays which police said could have been used to target underage people.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams put out a statement in response to the operation Tuesday saying, "we shut down an illegal cannabis distribution operation in Brooklyn as part of Operation Padlock to protect that was clearly targeting children with their packaging."
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Police also believe that the shop was supplying other illegal smoke shops in the city.
Among the items seized were a printing press, fake labels, 50 lbs of raw cannabis edibles, chemicals being mixed with concentrated THC scales and vape poducts.
It's still unclear where the product came from, but the police say they are dedicated to cracking down on illegal cannabis.
Two men were arrested pending charges and an ongoing investigation.
Weed in NYC
The New York State Office of Cannabis Management says $57 million of illegal cannabis was seized in the state last year alone.
A joint task force from the Sheriff's Office, the NYPD, and the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Padlock, found millions of dollars worth of illegal cannabis products stored in a Brooklyn warehouse.
In total, more than 200 illegal smoke shops have been sealed and busts at smoke shops tend to be around $100,000. The Sheriff's Office says it's keeping these products out of the hands of young people.
The Office of Cannabis Management believes their increased enforcement, which now includes holding landlords accountable for renting to shops selling illegal cannabis, will slowly but surely dry out retail location options for those who enter the recreational cannabis market illegally.