D.A.: Police shut down unlicensed mobile pot dispensary operating in Queens

Authorities have shut down an unlicensed mobile pot dispensary operating out of a minibus in Queens, following a series of community complaints.

In making the announcement Monday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said a search warrant executed last week by the NYPD and New York City Sheriff's Office recovered 4 pounds of leaf cannabis and edibles packaged "to look like candy." More than 1 pound of concentrated cannabis was also recovered from the minibus, Katz said.

Law enforcement officials said the minibus had been operating in the area for weeks and was searched while it was operating on Woodhaven Boulevard under the Long Island Expressway in Rego Park.

Three suspects, whose identities were not released, were charged with sale and possession of cannabis, the district attorney’s office said. Authorities said the van was impounded by the NYPD.

"This illegal cannabis truck was parked just across the street from a school and a few hundred feet from a playground," Katz said in a statement.

Authorities are asking anyone who may suspect there’s an illegal cannabis dispensary operating in the area to call the Queens District Attorney’s Office at 718-286-6503. 

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”