A press conference never smelled so dank.
Countywide officials gathered on Tuesday, May 27th, to provide an oral recap of the dozens of raids that recently led to the recovery of over 15,000 illegal weed products.
Commencing on May 20th, the joint mission—that spanned 44 total smoke shops or independent convenience stores—permanently halted five businesses altogether.
Seven arrests were made in the process, including one the same morning of a man caught dealing to William Floyd School District 13-year-olds in the Mastic-Shirtley area.
Romaine and his fellow leaders vehemently remarked that all those selling cannabis without a permitted license to do so are subject to equal pursuits.
Flavored vape pods marketed and sold en masse to minors sat amongst the endlessly high-potency sea of THC-certified evidence on display at the Yaphank-held news update.
“I get a lot of phone calls from parents very fearful for their children vaping in school bathrooms,” said Councilwoman Jane Bonner. “The amount of THC vaping kids are doing in bathrooms at school is unbelievable.”
Some of the largest busts thus far occurred at Cloud Nine V in Farmingville, Simply Green in Coram, Vape Guru in Bay Shore and The Norm in Patchogue.
Illegal fireworks and Colorado-originated magic mushroom chocolate bars were also discovered in these raids, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina.
The Police Commissioner revealed they plan to eventually burn the products recovered, and that testing for harmful additives is “probably impossible” due to the sheer volume in custody.
These won’t be their last raids, though, thanks to both Suffolk County and individual town laws that make it easier for the proper branches to conduct said raids than in years past.
“The town laws have a lot more teeth when it comes to closing down buildings… it’s extremely beneficial when it comes to an operation like this,” said Catalina. “Bringing all of us together to leverage the different powers we have to hit these people with all the power that we have.”
Catalina said all seven precincts were polled to determine what the most advantageous locations for them to “hit” were, and “that’s what we did.”
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr., Legislators Leslie Kennedy, Steve Flotteron and Jim Mazzarella were also on hand to express their praise for their collaborators and contempt for illegal drug distributors who compromise the safety not just of children—of everybody.
Flotteron memorably mocked a certain zany graphic-clad, purple-colored package presented at the presser; he reckoned that it looked like “something you would buy for your 5-year-old.”
Speaking on behalf of the Coram community she represents, Councilwoman Bonner notably preferred to refer to Simply Green as “the establishment” when talking about the noble service its shutdown rendered possible.
Bonner noted that “in Brookhaven, you can only sell in proper zoning areas—this is retail, not industrial.”
She says the investigation confirmed “the people that opened these shops advertising they are licensed” are wrong, leading to the slippery slope wherein the adults who choose to purchase cannabis products there for recreational use are led to do so under false pretenses.
“They were doing their due diligence hoping to buy legal, safe and tested. But it [Simply Green] did not have the proper license.”
“I appreciate our wonderful partners in law enforcement and colleagues in the Legislature for understanding the seriousness of this,” Bonner concluded.
“We don’t know what is in these products when they are unregulated,” said Mazzarella.
“These bad actors; there are dens of illegal activity,” he added. “A lot of times, they become quality of life issues. Surrounding neighborhoods are being affected… It’s unfortunate.”