Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Sheriff Anthony Miranda joined “Mornings On 1” Thursday to discuss the latest takedown of two illegal cannabis shops in the Bronx, one of which appeared to be operating as a distribution center for other illegal sellers.
“We want to go after the source. I believe there’s some very well-financed individuals behind this entire operation,” Adams said during the interview.
The bust marks the most recent closure of illegal cannabis distributors under the city’s “Operation Padlock to Protect” initiative, which has been targeting unlawful sellers across New York City since May.
Describing the scene of the raid, Adams noted how difficult the operation has been as many sellers operate under deceptive facades.
“This is what makes this job so challenging because no one is advertising that this is a cannabis location. It looked like a normal deli or bodega. And just to find out it was just a fraud. And we were able to partner with the community to identify a location,” Adams said.
Miranda highlighted the scale of the illegal operation, noting over $3 million worth of product was seized.
“We also found the warehouse that they store additional product at. When you shut down this type of location—which actually is a distribution—it’s a network that they distribute to other locations, not just in the Bronx but in other parts of the city as well,” he said.
Miranda also thanked the community for its support in the crackdown, saying that even those who would purchase from the shop will be grateful in the long term.
“Nobody wants to get sick with this product. Nobody wants to take a chance on their health,” Miranda said. “These are unregulated products that have been mixed with things that they’d have no idea about. So it is a health and safety issue, what we’re focusing on. So even the people who want to participate in the market should look for one of the legal locations. And the community residents and everybody else has been upset about all these illegal shops that have opened, and they’re our partners in this fight.”
Adams also stressed that the community wants these shops shut down as they are typically “magnets for violence.”
“The number of robberies, shootings, just the quality of life. They are magnets for violence,” he said. “The legal shops are now starting to see their profits increase because we have been targeting the illegal locations.”
The city has closed approximately 640 illegal smoke shops, seized about $20 million in illegal products, and issued around $53 million in fines and penalties since launching the operation in May, Adams said at a press conference Wednesday.
