It didn�t take much to smoke these guys out.

Cops raided an illegal pot shop in Brooklyn Monday � a day after an irate,
weed-puffing worker dared authorities to shut down the store and boasted
he doesn�t �give a f�k.�

The sheriff�s office and NYPD swept through Gelato marijuana shop on 86th
Street in Bay Ridge, hours after The Post reported on the shop and a
citywide epidemic of unlicensed weed sellers.

�We�re happy to respond to community complaints,� city Sheriff Antony
Miranda, who was on the scene, told The Post.

Authorities took cannabis flowers, edibles, pre-roilled joints, THC vapes
and illegal flavored vape products out of the store � slapping them with
$25,000 worth of penalties, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said.

The raid comes after the worker offered a Post reporter a puff of a joint
on Sunday, saying promises to padlock the illicit shops was �nothing new.�

�That�s always been a possibility of getting raided here,� the worker
said. �But I�m not going to be put out of a job!

�I�ll put a table outside and sell in the street. I don�t give a f�k! You
can�t mess with a person�s money!�

The worker promised everyone �will adjust� and added: �They�re housing
illegal immigrants and paying their way to get the vote for Biden, and
this is what they�re going to do? Come raid pot shops?�

City Councilman Justin Branna, who represents the area, mocked the store
as authorities swept through the shop.

�Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If you are operating completely
illegally, maybe don�t talk trash and taunt the authorities in the NY
Post. Just a thought,� Brannan wrote on X.

Brannan later told The Post that Gelato has been on the community�s
�radar� for some time.

�I support the legalization of recreational marijuana but these new retail
licenses from the state will be worthless and tax revenue will be a far
cry from what�s anticipated unless we get more licenses out the door and
get serious about the illegal weed shops masquerading as legit
dispensaries,� Brannan said.

The Post visited numerous suspected illegal cannabis locations on Sunday,
more than week after the mayor and Gov. Kathy Hochul held a victory lap
press conference hailing a tougher state law making it easier to padlock
unlicensed cannabis shops � but the change wasn�t immediately followed up
with the promised crackdown.

Many illicit pot shops have immediately reopened after raids and temporary
shutdown orders.

�We have not started enforcement under the new law yet. That�s coming in
the next couple weeks,� the mayor�s spokesperson said on Monday.

�Gelato has been on our radar for a while and it�s been raided several
times so everyone is hopeful the new laws they just passed in Albany will
finally get this right and give the City of New York the power we should
have had all along,� Brannan added.

The store is just one of more than 100 suspected illegal weed shops that
The Post was able to identify in short order by reaching out to a few
elected officials, community boards and business groups.

Community Board 10 in southern Brooklyn � which covers Bay Ridge, Dyker
Heights and Fort Hamilton � identified more than 20 illegal pot shops.

Adams last week claimed there are as many as 2,800 illegal smoke shops in
the city while there are only 53 state-licensed dispensaries in the city
and just 116 in the entire state.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/29/us-news/cops-raid-illegal-nyc-pot-shop-just-
one-day-after-defiant-worker-dared-cops-to-shut-down-the-store/