NYC illegal smoke shops showing ‘creativity’ to avoid getting shut down, mayor says

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Some illegal smoke shops in New York City are getting creative to try and avoid getting shut down by law enforcement, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.

The New York City Sherriff’s Joint Compliance Task Force has shut down more than 1,000 illegal smoke shops in the past four months as part of “Operation Padlock to Protect,” according to the mayor.

“Many of them are going away. They know we’re onto them. But you have a few that are trying to play the game of changing the sign and turning some of the back rooms into the illegal operation. You would be surprised at the creativity that we’re finding where those are trying to skirt the law, but it’s not going to happen. Neighbors are calling in and they are letting us know about these spots,” Adams said.

Adams said that the task force has inspected 100% of the known illegal smoke shops that were part of Operation Padlock to Protect’s initial list. An estimated $63 million in illegal products have been seized, city officials said.

On Wednesday, the city burned more than four tons of illegal cannabis product to make sure nobody can access it.

“[To] place it in a landfill,” Adams said, “it just really opens the door to people going to the landfills and trying to salvage whatever they can.”

Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here .

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