Police seized more than $10 million worth of illegal drugs in a Bronx nightclub that brazenly doubled as an illicit warehouse, cops said Saturday.
Complaints from neighbors and a smoke shop inspection at another location led police to request a search warrant for the massive unmarked space that takes up half a block at Timpson Avenue and East 147th Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood, cops said.
The joint operation led by the New York City Sherriff’s Office turned up piles of illegal cannabis, THC concentrate, mushrooms and edibles, along with a handgun, according to Sheriff Anthony Miranda.
Police were seen removing huge bags full of illegal drugs from the nightclub Saturday afternoon. G.N.Miller/NYPost“This is probably the largest seizure we’ve taken so far,” Miranda said. “And again this is just the distribution, so that’s how much product they have flowing through this one location.”
The space was being used for storage and packaging of the drugs when not being used as a nightclub, Miranda said Sunday in a press conference.
“It’s a distribution place and it had people coming in and using the product on-site,” Miranda said.
“It is a very sophisticated operation, I would say,” said Kaz Daughtry, NYPD deputy commissioner of operations.
The Bronx warehouse is a sign of how extensive illegal cannabis operations in New York City have become, Mayor Eric Adams told reporters after the bust.
“It just goes to show you it’s more than just the places where the signs are located. It is hidden in every part of our city and communities. And we’re going to find it and destroy it,” Adams said.
The drugs were found in the back rooms of the after-hours social club at 416 Timpson Ave. NYPD
The large warehouse was being used as a nightclub and as a storage and packaging facility for illegal drugs, according to police. NYPDHizzoner vowed to find the top dealers and thanked the community for passing along tips about the illegal operation.
Cops began systematically shutting down the city’s roughly 3,400 illegal pot shops after the state legislature earlier this year granted local police the authority to padlock the shops for up to a year immediately after an inspection.
As of early July, the task force had shuttered 535 illicit shops, seizing $17.5 million in illegal cannabis product and doling out over $43 million in civil penalties, the mayor’s office said.
Investigators also recovered a gun during the raid. NYPDAfter finding an illegal store, investigators pore over paperwork, such as shipping documents or false licenses, to identify bigwig dealers or make connections to other illegal shops, Miranda has said.
