A crackdown on smoke shops in Middletown led to multiple arrests and the seizure of a massive amount of illegal cannabis products.
Police say officers inspected several vape and smoke shops around the city and ended up seizing more than 60 pounds of marijuana and THC products from three different locations.
The raids targeted three stores:
- Vape Vault on Main Street
- Smoke Shop on Washington Street
- Smoke Plus also on Washington Street
According to investigators, the stores were allegedly selling unlicensed cannabis products outside of Connecticut’s legal dispensary system. When police searched the businesses, they reportedly found large quantities of marijuana and THC items.
Authorities say the seizures included roughly:
- 2.6 pounds of cannabis at one shop
- 32.8 pounds at another
- 27.3 pounds at the third location
In addition to marijuana products, investigators said they confiscated large amounts of synthetic kratom, including thousands of capsules and bags of powder.
Three employees were arrested following the raids and are facing charges that include possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell. Police say each person had control over the products discovered at the respective shops.
The operation is part of a broader statewide effort to crack down on smoke shops that allegedly sell unlicensed cannabis or other controlled substances outside Connecticut’s regulated market.
In other words, what looked like a few neighborhood vape shops turned out—according to police—to be sitting on tens of pounds of weed behind the counter.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
