NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The NYPD seized 19 "cannabis" trucks from the streets of the city Tuesday for allegedly selling edibles without a license.
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NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey said the Community Response Team confiscated trucks that lacked a license from the Department of Health.
“Up in smoke,” the chief tweeted. “While others follow the rules, these trucks and their vendors don’t have permits, so we took action!”
At least a half-dozen vehicles were seized in the Times Square area by officers enforcing 311 complaints.
More seizures were planned for Wednesday, NYPD officials said.
Among the vehicles seized was a Weed World bus near Fifth Avenue and W. 40th Street, Maddrey said.
In June, a dozen Weed World vehicles were seized by the NYC Sheriff’s Office over $500,000 in unpaid parking tickets.
The owner of Weed World Candies, Bilal Muhammad, said this week that the company had paid $200,000 of the debt and that the company has a payment plan established to pay off its remaining fines.
Muhammad acknowledged that the ticket situation "got out of hand" after contractors didn't pay, leaving Weed World to deal with it.
Muhammad said that they "took for granted [that] tickets were just being taken care of," and that tickets — which he called a "natural byproduct" of having trucks in the city — would be paid on time.
“We’re being grouped with these up-and-newcomers that are actually selling real weed and we don't sell real weed. We never have," he said in a statement.
It's unclear if any of the trucks seized Tuesday are believed to have been selling THC-containing edibles.
Recreational marijuana was legalized for adults in New York state last year, but licensed businesses have yet to start selling it as the emerging industry continues its months-long rollout.
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