The Walden Police Department recently confirmed that its officers, in partnership with county and state agencies, conducted a sting operation on October 30, leading to the shutdown of an illegal cannabis dispensary and the discovery of another in the village.

This operation is part of Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus’ crackdown on retail locations selling unlicensed cannabis and narcotics in the county. Over the summer, Neuhaus assembled a task force comprising the OC Department of Health, the OC Office of Cannabis Management, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and several local police departments. The task force conducted its first operation on July 30 and 31, issuing violations to nine illegal dispensaries in Chester, Goshen, Highland Falls, Monroe, and other municipalities.

“There is nothing more valuable than our children and keeping them out of harm’s way. These illegal items are packaged to entice children and resemble candy,” Neuhaus said on August 1. “I, along with local and state agencies, want to increase awareness and will continue to take necessary actions to keep our communities safe.”

For its second operation, the task force worked with the Walden PD and Village Building Inspector Robert Wallner to investigate two suspicious locations: Walden Convenience and Smoke Shop on 82 West Main Street, and an unregistered business on 1 South Montgomery Street.

“A lot of smoke shops and convenience stores are selling cannabis, which is not legal unless they’re dispensaries,” said Walden Officer Roy Werner. “We received complaints that a smoke shop in Walden was selling cannabis, so we looked into it with the county.”

The operation took place on October 30 between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., with each task force member serving a different role in the process. The OCDOH sent an undercover agent to see if the locations sold cannabis to customers under 21, the OCOCM determined whether or not these locations were legal dispensaries, the NYSDTF examined the sales tax for both locations’ products, Wallner checked the locations’ building code violations, and the Walden PD inspected the scenes with standby support.

Through the operation, the task force discovered that Walden Convenience and Smoke Shop was selling large quantities of unlicensed cannabis, as well as untaxed cigarettes purchased from another state. The OCOCM confiscated the cannabis and the Walden PD shut down the store for the time being. The store owner will attend a state court proceeding in the future to determine whether their shop will reopen or remain closed.

For the location on 1 South Montgomery Street, the task force discovered that the store owners were also selling unlicensed cannabis, but far less compared to the smoke shop. The OCOCM confiscated the cannabis, but the Walden PD permitted the business to remain open.

“We assisted these agencies with inspections and standby support,” Werner said. “We didn’t find any criminal charges, they were only civil penalties.”