The NYPD has seized nearly $10 million worth of drugs in the Bronx as part of its latest crackdown on the distribution of illegal cannabis products across the city, along with other substances.
Police said they were investigating community complaints about illegal marijuana sales on Timpson Place in the Mott Haven section overnight Saturday when they discovered the illegal drug operation, with Mayor Eric Adams joining them on the scene.
In addition to the THC products, officials say they also found psilocybin mushroom hallucinogens packaged as candies and chocolates, and referred to other substances, all of which were being distributed throughout the local community.
“We found, obviously, flower, the cannabis flower. We found pre-rolls, but we also have found mushroom hallucinogens, candies, chocolates, kids packaging. Everything that you can think of in terms of what the illicit, illegal market is distributing to our committees, we found at this location. This location takes almost more than a half a block in terms of the volume and space that it has back there. It has a social club, it has a usage place, packaging, distribution, everything is coming out of just one location,” New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda told CBS News.
Some people in the neighborhood said they have observed suspicious activity out of the building along Timpson Place for two years.
“When I would walk my dog in the morning, the line would start around 7 o’clock. Going all the way down the block the cars are double parked. The kids can’t get to school,” a woman named Sandy who lives next door to the building told CBS News. “I know the people on the second and the third floor called 311 and made numerous complaints about the noise and the traffic. I’m happy to see them go.”
According to the NYPD, the Timpson Place drug bust is its most significant to date involving illegal cannabis products, and the latest in a citywide enforcement initiative called Operation Padlock to Protect. This effort was facilitated to crack down on the number of unlicensed smoke shops and cannabis dispensaries in NYC.
After the raid of the Bronx building, four people were arrested in connection to the operation, said Fabien Levy, Adams’ Deputy Mayor for Communications.
