An “elaborate” cannabis-trafficking business operating out of a Brooklyn warehouse that was supplying multiple illegal smoke shops around the city has been shut down, with two people arrested, authorities said on Friday.
The business went by the name P.U. — for its powerfully pungent pot — which was stamped on the packaging of several of its products. If the operators were trying to keep a low profile, their product’s overpowering odor didn’t help.
“At least they got one thing right, and that was the name of their location,” Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry said at a press conference outside the warehouse, at 209 Highland Place in East New York, that was the central hub of the operation. “Their name is P.U. It’s the name of this organization, this warehouse behind me, and that’s because you can smell the marijuana from around the block.”
Authorities seized about 500 pounds of illegal cannabis products in the bust, Daughtry said.
Two smoke shops — at 2347 Second Ave. in East Harlem and 1585 Pitkin Ave. in Brownsville, Brooklyn — that were supplied by the warehouse were also shuttered as a result of the investigation.
The weed warehouse is the latest casualty of Operation Padlock, a joint effort between the NYPD and the city’s Sheriff’s Department cracking down on unlicensed marijuana shops launched by Mayor Adams in May 2024.
To date, the task force has shuttered more than 1,500 illegal stores, seized more than $100 million in merchandise and issued violations totaling more than $200 million in fines, according to Daughtry.
“It’s not enough to shutter these illegal smoke shops,” the deputy mayor said. “We are also going after the suppliers, like this one behind me, to cut off the pipeline that fuels the illegal, unregulated cannabis market.”
“These places are selling untested, unregulated products that can make people sick or, even worse, kill them,” he continued. “Some are targeting kids with flavored vapes and products packaged like candy and in cereal. And many of them are magnets for violence, especially when they are moving large amounts of cash.”
The Department of Buildings ordered that the warehouse be completely vacated. Inside, the space was divided into several different rooms by illegal partitions, with each room set up for different activities connected with the business.
“This is an elaborate setup, from packaging to distribution,” New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda said at the briefing. “They got shipments, they packaged and then they distributed from this location.”
