City law enforcement officials say they seized an estimated $12 million worth of illicit marijuana products – the largest confiscation of illegal pot products the city has ever seen — from a Queens warehouse on Thursday night.
Officials stumbled upon the operation on Second Street in Astoria because of a burglary call at 3 a.m. on Thursday, sheriff’s department Lt. Francesca Rosa said. She said she didn’t have information on who placed the call.
Officers from the NYPD’s 114th Precinct responded, and found two men fleeing the warehouse with large bags, Rosa said. After arresting the men, the officers looked inside the bags and found nearly 100 pounds of cannabis flower, she said.
“When the officers went back to the warehouse, they realized it was a big operation, froze the location and called the sheriff’s office,” she said.
The NYPD obtained a search warrant, and officers from both departments descended on the scene Thursday afternoon, Rosa said. They found cannabis flower, pre-rolls, THC edibles, THC vape products, THC concentrate, jars of THC oil, mushroom chocolate bars and two machines that were being used to manufacture homemade vape products, she said.
None of the products appeared to be regulated, and the location did not have a license to sell them, Rosa said.
“You have to have a license from the state to sell cannabis. A lot of people have a misunderstanding – it has been decriminalized, but it is not legal to sell out of retail spaces unless you have a license,” Rosa said. “We don’t know exactly where it was going, but we do have intel that this location supplied the city and even outside the city.”
Rosa said it’s still unclear if the two men arrested while fleeing the warehouse were connected to the operation, or if they were truly burglarizing the property.
“We’re taking this to the next level and looking into it deeper,” she said.
The NYPD would not provide the names of the men or detail what charges they faced on Friday, and instead referred Gothamist to the sheriff’s department. However, ABC7 reported that authorities identified the men as James Pennisi, 38, from Pennsylvania, and John Betancourt, 36. City records show both men have been charged with criminal possession of cannabis. An attorney listed for Pennisi could not immediately be reached Friday, while an attorney for Betancourt was not yet reflected in city records.
The property is listed in multiple online real estate directories as owned by 2nd Street Holdings LLC. But Gothamist has not yet been able to reach anyone associated with the LLC.
Albert Khan, the executive director of Alphabet City Childcare Center, which is on the same block as the warehouse, said he didn’t see the raid but was glad to hear about it.
“I know that the area’s improving, but I’m happy that this transpired so this way the streets can be cleaned up and all this garbage can be moved out of the area,” Khan said, calling the sheer quantity of products police say they discovered “unbelievable.”
Though he said he never saw any particularly suspicious behavior on the block, he praised law enforcement officials for taking action.
“Obviously it has to stop. We’re having a preschool where children’s safety is of the utmost importance. And when this particular situation occurs, it just becomes out of hand,” he added.
Law enforcement officials worked overnight to confiscate the vast quantities of products, and the operation didn’t wrap up until early Friday morning, Rosa said. The location is now padlocked, she added.
Authorities have shuttered what they say are more than 1,000 unlicensed cannabis stores across New York state since Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation to expand enforcement powers earlier this year. More than 770 of those stores were in New York City alone, according to the governor’s office. Dozens of businesses have sued over the closures, which they allege were done without adequate due process.