The Smoking Pot Gets Raided on 420 Eve
If ever there’s a day you don’t want your smoke shop to be raided, it’s 420 Eve. Yet that’s exactly what happened in Western Massachusetts, when Springfield Police swarmed into The Smoking Pot. The cops apparently seized a lot more than bongs and vapes too.
In fact, the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) seized five firearms, as well as an unfinished ghost gun, plus enough drugs to narcotize everyone in the region – through the next year!
Drug Kingpin Starter Kit
You might call the seized cache a Drug Kingpin Starter Kit. That is, there was enough guns and drugs to propel any wannabe Drug Kingpin right into the big leagues. The not inconsiderable amount cash though makes it appear that these kingpins were already well in the game.
Here’s the breakdown:
First Location
- Tan Maxim Defense AR Pistol with optic loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition
- Taurus Millennium G2 Firearm with a 12 rounds magazine
- Black Glock Semi-Automatic Firearm loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition in a 12 round magazine
- 30 round magazine loaded with 13 rounds of Ammunition
- 17 Round Magazine
- Glock Firearm Parts
- Polymer 80 Lower and Metal Slide aka Ghost Gun Parts
- 113 Half Packs of Heroin which equates to about 5650 bags of Heroin
- 114 Grams of Crack-Cocaine
- 453 Grams of Powder Cocaine
- $28,023 in cash
- 490 Grams of Marijuana in addition to 101 additional bags of marijuana
- Five Hallucinogenic mushroom bars
Second Location
- Marijuana Wax
- Pre-rolled Marijuana Joints/Cigarettes
- Three small containers and one large container of Marijuana
- Three Display Containers of Marijuana
- $274 in cash
Third Location
- Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .380 Caliber firearm with a 9 round magazine loaded with 9 rounds of ammunition
- Tactical Vest
- 202 Grams of Marijuana
- $454
To be fair, this wasn’t all seized from The Smoking Pot. Authorities actually executed three search warrants – the first at Overland Lofts on Chestnut Street, the second at The Smoking Pot on Bridge Street, and the third at an apartment on Lombard Street. There was no word on arrests.
Why The Smoking Pot?
News22 (WWLP) reporter Nick DeGray says “the warrants come from a several week-long investigation into an uptick in shots fired incidents and neighbors complaining in the area.”
The City of Springfield itself says the operation was a combined effort between its Firearms Investigation Unit, under the direction of Captain Brian Keenan, in addition to members of the Springfield Police Emergency Service Unit (ESU) under the direction of Sergeant David Robillard, plus members of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno concurred. His Honor also added some very mayoral comments.
“Tremendous work by our brave and dedicated men and women of our Springfield Police Department, especially from our Firearms Investigation Unit under the direction of Captain Brian Keenan. Our Springfield Police Detectives and Officers, along with our public safety partners, continue to seize numerous illegal guns, including ghost guns, drugs and other paraphernalia. It is because of the hard work from our detectives and officers that we were able to secure a warrant and seize this poison and take these illegal guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods.”
“Our dedicated Springfield Police Officers will continue with their investigation and will find those responsible for dealing this poison in our community. When that happens, Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood and I, along with our residents and business community, will again ask our courts to hold those suspects responsible for their crimes.”
And why not? Springfield’s 155,929 citizens might make it the third-largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the fourth-most populous city in New England (after Boston, Worcester, and Providence), but it still has the feel of a small town. It’s also set way west of what’s considered normal areas of concern (i.e. the East Coast). Consequently, a seizure of such magnitude means all the more.
Healing Properties congratulates Mayor Sarno, Police Superintendent Clapprood, Captain Keenan, Sergeant Robillard and the entire Springfield Police Department, as well as the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, not so much for taking down The Smoking Pot (cannabis is another story), but for staying ahead of a terrible drug scourge. There’s no room for ghost guns, crack and heroin in any town, let alone in one of such size. We wholeheartedly hope and pray their great good efforts won’t be in vain.
How about you? Are you having trouble with crack and/or dope? You ready to get off the road to nowhere? Well, give us a ring. We’ll help get you sorted pronto. Whether you’re in Western Massachusetts or South Florida. Really.
Photo Courtesy City of Springfield
