Six people were arrested after authorities busted an unlicensed cross-country pot smuggling operation this week in NYC that included the seizure of more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana worth over $2.5 million.
The suspects were using tractor-trailor-style trucks to bring the pot and various cannabis products from California to a SecureSpace self-storage unit in Maspeth, officials said Friday.
From there, the goods would be divided and transferred to another storage unit, given to a distributor or sold directly to customers, authorities said.
The shady enterprise had allegedly been going on since April. The joint investigation was conducted by members of the Queens DA’s office, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Field Division and the city Sheriff NYPD Cannabis Task Force.
Nearly 2,000 pounds of THC flower, along with hundreds of pre-packed, one-pound weed bags, pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes and nearly 1,000 pounds of THC vape pens, were allegedly discovered Thursday after investigators executed various search warrants in Maspeth and Long Island City, the DA’s office said.
Manhattanites Eduardo Lopez, 29, and Courtney Ferguson, 40; Erzhena Mitupova, 34, and Anna Migal, 47, both of Kew Gardens; 24-year-old Jose Carbajal Enamorado of Jackson Heights and 24-year-old Emerson Ramos Garcia of Bayside were all arrested after authorities alleged none were licensed to sell cannabis in New York.
All six men were charged with first degree criminal possession of cannabis and ordered to return to criminal court on various dates in September and October by a Queens judge during their arraignments Thursday.
If convicted, they each face a potential maximum sentence of 2 ⅓ years to seven years in prison.
“These types of THC products that are sold illegally very often lead to harm in our communities. It is the reason that legal shops go through a rigorous approval process by the state,” Katz said in response to the bust.
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