Nearly four tons of illegal cannabis and related products, valued at around $10 million, were seized, and two men were arrested during a raid at a Floral Park storage facility on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the details on Thursday, following the execution of a search warrant that day. Awad Aziz, 31, and Muneer Kassim, 34, both of Brooklyn, were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday night on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance after authorities discovered a smaller quantity of crystal meth and Psilocybin products during the raid.
According to the charges and investigation, members of the NYPD, with assistance from the NYC Sheriff’s Office, launched an investigation into the warehouse at the beginning of August. The Queens DA’s Office joined the investigation shortly afterward, and a search warrant was secured for the location at 88-08 Little Neck Pkwy.
Law enforcement raided the storefront and discovered the cannabis and cannabis products, as well as crystal meth and numerous products labeled as containing Psilocybin, known as magic mushrooms.
In addition to the extensive storage area, officials observed a separate area where concentrated cannabis products were allegedly produced by pressing the vegetative cannabis to obtain the liquid extract, which would then be loaded into plastic cartridges. The total amount of illegal, unregulated products was loaded into two dump trucks, weighing approximately four tons, or 8,000 pounds.
Both defendants were arrested near the premises at the time of the search for allegedly storing and producing the illegal product.
“The proliferation of illegal cannabis shops in our neighborhoods are supplied by large warehouse operations without any oversight or regulations in place,” Katz said. “We are targeting these locations to prevent dangerous, unregulated and untaxed products from being sold in our communities.”
Aziz and Kassim were also charged with criminal possession of cannabis in the first degree. If convicted of the top count, they each face a potential maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison.
“My office stands resolute in cracking down on the illegal production and sale of recreational drugs in our neighborhoods,” Katz said. “Thank you to our partners at the NYPD and the NYC Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels ordered Aziz and Kassim to return to court on Nov. 12.
