Illegal Dispensaries Sweep Discovered More Than Illegal Marijuana Sales

Overview

• Type: ecstasy

Photo: 1305 W. Holt Ave #101

POMONA –  Unlicensed/criminal marijuana dispensaries operating without a business license recently fell under serious scrutiny.

Selling marijuana is illegal in Pomona city limits. Seven dispensaries had been operating illegally within the city for several weeks.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Investigative Services Division , and California Department of Tax Fee Administration teamed up to conduct a city-wide sweep.

As a result, the joint effort found much more than just marijuana sales. The city’s Code Enforcement Department contacted the property owners, and discovered no business licenses.

Unlicensed sales of tobacco products and failure to file a quarterly tax return were added to refusing to cease all illegal activity. Sensitive investigations require that all efforts to gain compliance were exhausted.

Consequently, the unit executed seven search warrants for the following Pomona unlicensed/criminal marijuana dispensary sites during Dec. 17th through 20th:

1305 W. Holt Avenue # 101
1015 W. Mission Blvd.
1528 W. Mission Blvd.
1135 S. Garey Avenue
1627 N. Garey Avenue
2380 N. Garey Avenue
2445 N. Garey Avenue

“During the service of these search warrants the teams recovered in excess of 500 ecstasy pills,” said SIU Unit Corporal Thomas De La Vega. Also seized were “45 pounds of marijuana, 600 pounds of marijuana product, one firearm, and approximately $32,000 in US Currency.”

The illegal drug Ecstasy (aka Molly) contains the active ingredient MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Produced in illegal labs, it causes both stimulation and hallucinations.

The popular party drug is manufactured abroad and sold on U.S. streets. The tablets might contain methamphetamine, cocaine, piperazine, synthetic cathinones (“bath salts”), or many different chemical contaminants.

The names of the suspects are not subject to release during this investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Pomona PD at 909-620-2085. To provide information anonymously, call “Crime Stoppers” (800) 222-TIPS (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP on Google play or the Apple App Store or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.