PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Bucks County’s district attorney has obtained an emergency preliminary injunction to shut down a Buckingham Township shop he said sold tobacco and other dangerous substances to children without checking ID.
The emergency court order was granted just hours after District Attorney Joe Khan said his office filed a consumer protection action against Zaza Vape and Cigar on Durham Road for unlawful, misleading and deceptive business practices.
Khan said he is opening a criminal investigation into the store.
“We have uncovered the fact that this is a store that is really running an illicit drug operation under the cover and guise of a legitimate business operation,” he said.
Khan accused the store of selling THC products, marijuana cigarettes and kratom, often called “gas station heroin.” without checking identification.
He said the store is nestled between a Wawa and an Ice Cream shop and used candy sales to lure children and teens in.
“The problem is that once children are inside this store, there's a whole bunch of other products being marketed to them, and those products in many cases are illegal,” he argued.
According to Khan, Zaza Vape and Cigar was fined several times for not properly checking ID since it opened about a year ago. He called it “simply the cost of doing business” for the owners.
“Just an inconvenience that requires them to maybe sell another carton or two of cigarettes so they can continue to stay in business,” he said, “continue to earn a profit while exploiting this epidemic that we have, this public health crisis that we have for our children here in Bucks County.”
