The Allen Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division have executed coordinated law enforcement operations on a series of North Texas warehouses, seizing over 75,000 pounds of hemp-derived products containing elevated THC levels.
Officers acting on search warrants early this week targeted three Dallas hemp warehouses, recovering what authorities estimate to be approximately 75,000 pounds of consumable THC products.
In addition to the over 75,000 pounds of THC products, officers seized more than $7 million worth of currency and assets, according to NBC 5 DFW.
The items seized are illegal in the Lone Star State despite being hemp-derived since the THC level is higher than the legal threshold of 0.3%, with the items allegedly containing THC levels ranging from 7% to 78%.
A press release from the Allen Police Department detailed the law enforcement investigation of three warehouses in Dallas, along with residential search warrants issued in Plano, Carrollton, and Colleyville, according to WFAA.
The warehouses investigated during the operation were located off Harry Hines Boulevard and included Frontline Wholesale, Cannify Goods, and Monster Smoke Wholesale.
This release stated that the operation was due to the result of “several months of investigation, during which undercover officers, on multiple occasions, purchased illegal THC products directly from the warehouses.”
“These purchases provided critical evidence supporting today’s enforcement actions. Detectives are also working to determine where the financial proceeds from these illegal operations are being directed—whether they are remaining within the United States and/or being diverted overseas,” continued the department, as reported by DMN.
Allen Police Chief Steve Dye said it would be shocking for many people to see how much product was at the warehouses.
“The enormity of the product, the enormity of the cash that’s going through these businesses is staggering,” he said, per NBC 5.
Despite the claims made by the Allen Police Department, Monster Smoke Wholesale’s attorney, David Sergi, has claimed that the department is “basically misrepresenting how you test for THC.”
“The Texas Forensic Science Commission has just issued a report that shows that the way that Department of Public Safety and the way that Armstrong Labs tests is inappropriate and wrong and comes up with false results,” he claimed, per NBC 5.
Sergi further claimed that those involved in the investigation have “totally blown right past that and knowing that their testing methods are wrong.”
“Trying to forfeit millions of dollars from clients of ours that are hardworking, that have built their business and accusing them of all sorts of crimes for which we will hold them to account,” he added, per NBC 5.
Sergi is now expected to obtain a copy of the search warrants in an attempt to have the seized items returned to his clients, though no updates have been provided on that process at this time.
These investigations come as the Lone Star State continues to crack down on the consumption of THC products, with a recent bill passed by the Texas Legislature seeking to ban consumption altogether.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Senate Bill 3 would ban the sale of nearly every product containing THC. The bill is currently sitting at Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
Abbott will now have until June 22 to make an official decision on whether to sign the bill and ban THC products, or veto the bill and allow the industry to continue its growth in the state.