Warehouses raided, DEA yielded 75,000 lbs. of consumable THC products, police say

The Allen Police Department announced it seized more than 75,000 pounds of consumable THC during multiple search warrants executed Tuesday, part of an effort to dismantle the illegal distribution of THC products, according to the department.

Allen police and agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration executed the search warrants at three hemp warehouses located off Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas: Frontline Wholesale, Cannify Goods, and Monster Smoke Wholesale.

Residential search warrants were also carried out in Plano, Carrollton, and Colleyville at homes linked to owners associated with the warehouses, according to Allen Police Chief Steve Dye.

Officials say the large bust is the result of a months-long undercover investigation into consumable hemp-derived products allegedly containing THC concentrations well above the state’s legal threshold of 0.3% and allegedly sold in Allen.

Police say illegal products with THC concentrations ranging from 7% to 78% were discovered.

Any product exceeding the 0.3% threshold is classified as a controlled substance and is illegal to possess or distribute in Texas.

Allen Police Chief Steve Dye said Wednesday he was present for the operation.

“The enormity of the product, the enormity of the cash that's going through these businesses is staggering,” Dye said. “It really is.”

The value of the seized products, cash and other assets is estimated at $7 million, according to police.

Undercover officers allegedly purchased illegal products directly from the warehouses on multiple occasions, police said.

Dye said since joining the department, he’s heard from parents of teenagers who purchased products targeted at youth and experienced physical and mental health problems as a result.

“The contents in the package rarely match the label,” he said. “The contents are almost always stronger with higher THC.”

Citing these concerns, Dye has become a leading advocate in Austin for Senate Bill 3, which would ban all THC products—including gummies, drinks and vapes infused with cannabis-derived substances.

The bill awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. He has until Sunday to veto the legislation or allow it to become law without his signature.

“SB3 is the solution and I'll tell you why,” Dye said. “This product can never be regulated. Retailers have already proven many of them to be not trustworthy.”

Dye added that if SB3 becomes law, police departments would be spared the high cost of testing THC levels in seized products.

“All we have to do at this point, if the law is passed, is test for presence, not quantity,” Dye said.

Monster Smoke Wholesale’s attorney, David Sergi, argues that the tests used by police to determine THC content are unreliable.

“What really bothers me about these raids is that 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, and it seems like Chief Dye and this alleged task force of his have totally blown right past that and knowing that their testing methods are wrong still are conducting these raids 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,” Sergi said.