Sheriff finds $12 mil in illegal pot in Astoria warehouse
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The New York City Sheriff's Department seized around $12 million in illegal products from an Astoria warehouse on Thursday night. Photo via the New York City Sheriff's Department
By Ryan Schwach
Law enforcement officials made a surprising find on Thursday night when they busted a warehouse in Astoria storing a mountain of illegal cannabis products.
The NYPD and sheriff’s department raided the warehouse, located at 2636 2nd St. near Hallett’s Point, and seized a whopping $12 million in illegal pot, they claim.
Law enforcement believe the warehouse was used as a distribution center for several illegal pot shops in and outside of the city.
The bust is reportedly one of the largest illegal weed finds in New York’s history.
The bust comes as the city continues its beefed up enforcement of unlicensed smoke shops, which have proliferated in the five boroughs in the last three years.
According to the New York City Sheriff’s Department, officers seized large amounts of cannabis flower, pre-rolls, THC edibles and oils, as well as psilocybin mushroom chocolate bars. The sheriff, Anthony Miranda, also said the owners of the warehouse had two machines used to make vapes, leading officers to believe they were creating their own vapes.
“This is a warehouse and a distribution point to locations not only in the city, but outside the city,” said Miranda. “Seizing the product is significant in ongoing investigations and stopping the flow of cannabis coming into the city.”
It is believed that the operators of the location were sending products to pot shops in the city, upstate and Long Island, however, the investigation is ongoing and officers have yet to determine where or how many locations received their product from the warehouse.
“I think most of the distribution we're finding is becoming more and more organized in terms of their outlets,” Miranda said.
Miranda told the Eagle that they believe $12 million in total product was seized – $7 million higher than the estimate they reported earlier on Friday morning.
The enormous seizure is equal to 30 percent of all pot seizures in the city between June and August.
Officials found the pot stash after an attempted burglary was reported at the location to the local 114th Precinct.
Two individuals were arrested for the burglary, law enforcement says.
There is currently no information on who owned or operated the warehouse, which used to be a kitchen cabinet wholesaler, according to Google Maps.
Since May 30, the sheriff, alongside the NYPD and other agencies, have been carrying out “Operation Padlock & Protect” which kicked illegal smoke shop enforcement into high gear. The operation, which allowed the city to deputize the NYPD to join in on enforcement, came with the help of new state laws that gave the city more authority over enforcement of the illegal shops.
Shutting down the illegal shops, which popped up all over Queens and the city in baffling numbers in the last several years, was a priority for the Adams administration and several local officials who said the shops were a blight on their communities and stripped opportunities away from those looking to join the legal weed market.
“For too long, illegal shops have contributed to a feeling that anything goes on our streets, while targeting our most vulnerable — including children — with dangerous, counterfeit products marketed as candy,” the mayor said on July 31.
According to the mayor, during the first two months of Padlock & Protect, the city closed 775 illegal cannabis shops, seized $41 million in illegal products and issued over $65 million in violations.
Law enforcement raided a warehouse in Astora on Thursday and seized around $12 million in illegal cannabis products. Screenshot via Google Maps
“In the three months since launching ‘Operation Padlock to Protect,’ our administration has delivered major results on a major quality of life and public safety issue,” said Adams.
The additional enforcement powers for the city and other state municipalities was a product of the state’s budget, and a push from local elected officials and Governor Kathy Hochul.
“Earlier this year, I enacted new enforcement powers to quickly and permanently close the thousands of illegal cannabis retailers across New York selling potentially dangerous products — many of which are marketed to children and teens — and siphoning sales from hard-working, licensed store owners,” said Hochul in July. "I am pleased to join Mayor Adams and other officials to celebrate a milestone and recognize the enforcement teams who shut down more than 1,000 unlicensed stores statewide, bringing us closer to our goal of building the strongest, most equitable cannabis industry in the nation.”
Adams also celebrated the Astoria seizure on Friday.
“[Thursday] night, we tackled another distributor supplying illegal cannabis shops with products that threaten the health and safety of our communities, particularly young New Yorkers,” said Adams.
Miranda told the Eagle that the support from other city agencies have made the enforcement process far easier.
“The support is key, interagency sharing of information and the interagency cooperation is key to the success of what we're doing,” he said. “There's no question about it.”
But as enforcement has increased, pot shop owners have begun to find new ways to evade enforcement.
“They're adopting, employing new techniques and new methods of hiding products,” Miranda said. “We will adjust according to the information that we receive and according to the criminality.”
“The enforcement process has to be flexible enough to adapt to the different circumstances that we're encountering and the intelligence that we're receiving, not only from the community, but from our ongoing investigations,” he added.
The investigation into the Astoria warehouse remains ongoing.
