Suffolk County police said they shut down five businesses and arrested eight people during a crackdown on illegal marijuana sales.
Officials said they visited 44 businesses with prior complaints to make sure they’re in compliance with state marijuana law, and found 26 shops with violations. That includes selling recreational marijuana without a valid state license and selling to minors.
"Once marijuana was legalized, a bunch of individuals took advantage of that and started to sell, really, with impunity," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.
Catalina said police seized more than 15,000 illegal marijuana products. He said the unlicensed products could be dangerous and untested.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said the county won't allow unlicensed pot shops to proliferate.
“We not only padlock their business, but we seize all of their products," Romaine said. "And the message is, if you're selling marijuana illegally without a state license, we are going to catch you.”
Police also seized 15,000 illegal flavored vape products, a "fringe benefit" of the crackdown, according to Catalina.
