Over $10 million worth of cannabis products were found hiding in an unassuming New York City party shop as authorities work to crackdown on illegal weed operations across the city.
The NYC Sheriff’s Office raided the Making Your Dreams Reality Event space at 88-08 Little Neck Pkwy in Queens Tuesday night and discovered hundreds of boxes filled with unregulated weed, reported WABC.
The warehouse was lined with packages containing illegal goods including THC filled cartridges, marijuana flowers and edible cannabis products. They also found filthy hot plate stations with brown liquid splattered on walls.
State officials have been working to crack down on marijuana dispensaries operating without a license and bringing in unregulated product, after the first legal ones opened in December 2022.
‘We are definitely looking into warehouses in the New York City area and we will come and seize whatever products needed,’ said Detective Sgt. Veronica Robels.
The NYC Sheriff’s Office raided 88-08 Little Neck Pkwy in the Bellerose section of Queens
Police seized $10 million worth of cannabis products from a New York City warehouse
The warehouse was packed with hundreds of boxes filled with illegal goods
‘What comes to mind is the children because you have very vibrant packaging, very colorful packaging you saw downstairs.
‘It attracts the eye. When you are a kid, you are attracted to bright colors and the packaging that they use they are very familiar with. It can look like a Skittles package, they think its Skittles but it’s really not.’
Mayor Eric Adams announced Operation Padlock to Protect in May, an initiative to shut down unlicensed smoke and cannabis shops in the city.
It gives law enforcement the ability to inspect smoke and cannabis shops and padlock those caught unlawfully selling cannabis.
‘Our administration is delivering on a promise to shut down unlicensed smoke and cannabis shops, protect our young people, and ensure that the future of legal cannabis burns bright in New York City,’ Adams said.
In July, the sheriff’s office said it has shuttered around 700 illegal stores since new state regulations passed earlier this year.
Officials estimated there were some 2,900 unlicensed vendors throughout New York City — compared to around 60 licensed dispensaries currently operating.
The walls were lined with brightly colored packages of unregulated cannabis products
Authorities found massive bags of marijuana flowers and pre-rolled joints
They found filthy hot plate stations with brown liquid splattered on walls
Detective Sgt. Veronica Robels said they are cracking down on unlicensed distributors because they often have packaged goods marketed towards children
A federal judge refused to halt the city’s crackdown measures after 27 sellers accused the city of causing irreparable harm by unilaterally closing shops, including for non-cannabis products, based on an assumption they were unlicensed.
State officials announced last year that more than 2.7 million New Yorkers consumer marijuana at least once a month – and most are still buying it illegally.
That’s more than one in eight adult New Yorkers. Separate statistics show one-fifth of New York adults smoke weed at least once a year, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
New York legalized marijuana in 2021, with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo claiming it would be a boon to the economy, bringing in an estimated $1.3billion.
