Three people were taken into custody for operating an illegal mobile cannabis dispensary on Woodhaven Boulevard underneath the Long Island Expressway near the playground at Hoffman Park and the Jewish Institute of Queens school in Elmhurst in response to community complaints, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday.
The van had been operating in Rego Park and Elmhurst in recent weeks, and detectives from the DA’s office conducted a series of undercover purchases at the van. The NYPD and the New York City Sheriff’s Office executed a court-authorized search warrant on Wednesday, April 16.
“This illegal cannabis truck was parked just across the street from a school and a few hundred feet from a playground,” Katz said.
Four pounds of leaf cannabis and more than one pound of concentrated cannabis were recovered, along with edibles packaged to look like candy.
“Since November 2022, my office, working with our partner agencies, has seized more than $25 million worth of products from more than 400 suspected illegal cannabis dispensaries here in Queens County,” Katz said.
The three mobile dispensary operators were taken into custody and were issued desk appearance tickets. They will be arraigned at a later date.
“We will not relent in our aggressive enforcement actions against unlicensed dealers who sell unregulated products that are targeted to children,” Katz said.
To report an illegal cannabis dispensary in your neighborhood, call the Queens DA’s office at 718-286-6503 or email cannabistips@queensda.org.
