5 More Smoke Shops Busted

by Mona Mahadevan

DCP counts and categorizes the haul at Grand Asmoke Shop, leaving police officers to speak with the three men who were at the store when they arrived.

Three guys hotboxing in the back of ​“Grand Asmoke Shop” had front-row seats Thursday as 10 cops burst in with city and state inspectors in the latest sweep of illegal weed-selling stores in town.

When officers walked into the back room, they found two of three men lounging in well-used, oversized recliners amid clouds of marijuana smoke. A third lounger, slumped in a metal folding chair, stared into the distance as officers looked around. The air was hazy with the pungent smell of cannabis. 

“Do you guys work here?” asked Sgt. Jared Boyce. 

“Nah,” responded a man in his mid-20s, who declined to share his name.

The officers didn’t find anyone who copped to working at the shop. They did find seven pounds worth of cannabis flower.

That was the scene at the last of five compliance checks performed Thursday morning by members of the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), city Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement, city Fire Marshal’s Office, New Haven Health Department, New Haven Police Department, and Connecticut State Police Department.

The team seizeda total of 14pounds of weed and weed products from Grand Asmoke Shop at 229 Grand Ave. and MK Smoke Shop & Deli at 982 State St., alleging neither store had the requisite license to sell cannabis legally. 

They also informed the clerks about e‑cigarette, zoning, and food and fire safety violations, and shared information about the new city-wide smoke shop ordinance, scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1. 

Over the last several months, the city has been cracking down on smoke shops illegally selling e‑cigarettes and marijuana, with one sweep yielding over 100 pounds of pot.

“If it’s a concern for [the community], it’s a concern for the [New Haven Police Department],” said Lt. David Guliuzza, who led the raids. ​“Hopefully this will curb bad behavior and get [the smoke shop owners] to see the light.”

Inspectors said they found violations at the other stores as well, but not involving cannabis. 

The biggest haul came from Grand Asmoke Shop. 

At the entrance of the store were walls lined with with colorful murals, weed-themed decor (including an Exit 420 road sign), board games, and a child-sized pink bicycle. 

Peering into the back, metal shelves were stocked with brightlycolored packages of Haribo gummy bears, Trolli sour worms, Scooby snacks, and other childhood classics. The packages contained either potent cannabis edibles or a few ounces of flower. 

State police officers patted down each of the three men at Grand Smoke and requested identification. The men complied, insisting they were not employees and were only there to smoke together. 

While four DCP employees began piling illegal marijuana products onto the floor, the police officers discovered one man had a warrant out for arrest. According to Boyce, that warrant was for a few misdemeanor charges and required a $25,000 bond.

State troopers handcuffed the man and put him in the back of Officer Ricardo Miranda’s cruiser. 

The other inspections yielded evidence of illegal behavior, though none of them ended with arrests: 

• Blow and Brew at 793 Grand Ave.: When the entourage of police and city cars arrived, the shopkeeper fled down Grand Avenue. Two police officers followed him, leaving everyone else to search the store for illegal products. Instead, they happened across a basement that appeared to be an after-hours club. They foond a pile of suspicious-looking white powder on the table. No marijuana was found. 
• Sam Food Mart at 569 Ferry St.: ​“It seemed like they were mostly in compliance, which is a blessing,” said Ricardo. DCP did find out the store was selling e‑cigarettes without a proper license and told the clerk on duty, Nazmol Iscam, to inform the owner. ​“I don’t know if this is legal or illegal,” claimed Iscam, adding that he had never met the owner, Samsul Alam. As the inter-agency entourage exited, he offered them free drinks from the store’s coolers. Later the state reported that it did confiscate small packages of cannabis.
• MK Smoke Shop & Deli at 982 State St.: At the front of the store were cases of pre-rolls and flower – with a yellow sign stating the ​“house blend” was on sale – as well as Pac-man themed marijuana products (labeled ​“Pack-man”). The New Haven police seized 6.46 pounds of flower and pre-rolls. ​“I assumed it was legal,” said a clerk. ​“I didn’t expect this.”
• Smoker’s Market at 118 Grand Ave.: Store clerk Smiley Talasia said was not expecting an inspection and doubted DCP would find anything out of compliance. The owner, Jannat Mawa ​“is so concerned with these things,” said Talasia. She said the store sold cigarettes, vapes, and accessory items, not drugs. She could not find the permits required to sell over-the-counter drugs and e‑cigarettes, but Mawa over the phone promised to straighten things out with DCP. As the officers exited, they thanked Talasia for being overall compliant with city and state law.

New Haven police officers Ricardo Miranda and Sylwia Pogorzelska seek info at MK Smoke Shop & Deli.