An early morning inspection of a seemingly normal deli in the Bronx led law enforcement officers to discover the location was serving as a front for marijuana product distribution.
Deputies from the New York City Sheriff’s Office found pallets worth of cannabis flower, THC pre-rolls and dozens of other illegal products at the deli on East Tremont Avenue in Throggs Neck, officials said.
A tip from the community led to the bust, which the NYPD and the Sheriff’s Office are calling one of the biggest they have seen in a while.
“If the community let us know, we’re going to respond. And this is a normal deli, in the front, but in the back, it was an entire distributorship where they were moving serious product,” Mayor Eric Adams said of the bust. “And so this is impacting children, colorful products. As long as the community lets us know, we’re going to do our job, and this is how we’re going to close down these establishments.”
Law enforcement officials said they also found packing containers, psilocybin mushroom edibles and a room that appeared to be set up to grow cannabis plants at the deli.
The estimated value of what was uncovered is at least $1 million, officials said.
“All of these shelves are filled with psilocybin mushrooms, in edible form. You see psilocybin mushroom bars,” Sheriff’s Office Lt. Francesca Rosa said during a tour of the deli. “These are all mushroom bars. Cereal, milk, white chocolate, birthday cake, different flavors.”
The Sheriff’s Office has issued warnings about the dangers of colorful packaging, as well as familiar product flavors and how they can be geared towards children.
The investigation is ongoing, as the Sheriff's Office and the NYPD are looking to see what was being packaged at the deli and where it was being sold.
At a news briefing Wednesday, Adams said law enforcement officials also busted a second illegal cannabis operator on East Tremont Avenue Tuesday night.
“We must get to the heart of who’s in charge of the distribution, the delivery of some of the stuff we saw inside, some very sophisticated operation,” Adams said. “And that is why it’s so important to see the collaboration that we’re seeing here.”
Adams said the city has shuttered around 640 illegal smoke shops, seized approximately $20 million in illegal products and issued around $53 million in fines and penalties since officials launched an operation to shut down illegal cannabis shops in May.
“This is making a huge different in our streetscape and improving the quality of life of countless New Yorkers in record time,” Adams said.