Four vape shops and convenience stores in Lowndes County were the targets of raids Thursday for alleged illegal drug sales, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins told The Dispatch.
Deputies received a Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers tip eight weeks ago claiming the Exotic Smokerz smoke store on Highway 45 was selling marijuana to underage customers. The tip sparked a two-month investigation that found three other stores – Ready Mart on North McCrary Road, Smokers Universe, and Union Stop on Main Street – were also selling the illegal product.
Confidential informants were sent into the vape shops and convenience stores to purchase the suspected products. One store offered rewards cards that gave customers a free gram of marijuana once they made 10 purchases, prompting deputies to dub the investigation “Operation Frequent Flyer.”
Hawkins said it is legal to sell hemp products in Mississippi for recreational use so long as they contain less than 0.3% TCH, which is the compound in marijuana that produces its high. Any product with a higher THC level must be sold as a medicinal product at a licensed dispensary.
All of the samples bought from the targeted stores contained more than the state’s legal limit of THC, according to crime lab tests, Hawkins said. Some tested as high as 27.2%.
During undercover purchases, informants found the stores were specifically promoting products aimed at attracting younger customers, Hawkins said.
“When our children have access to these types of products, we want to make sure that we take them off the street,” he said. “It’s illegal for anybody under the age of 21 to buy tobacco products, but we know people have been going into these stores – (Exotic Smokerz) in particular – and buying product underage.”
Agents from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office STING Unit executed search warrants at the four stores Thursday afternoon along with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Hawkins told The Dispatch he expects several arrests, but by press time Thursday, deputies were still trying to work out who would go to jail. Suspects could face charges of selling a controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or even trafficking a controlled substance, he said.
The investigation will continue to build from here. Additional items were seized Thursday to be sent for analysis testing, which could result in additional charges, and investigators are also working to determine where the product is coming from, Hawkins said.
“We have identified a couple of suppliers that are out of state that are bringing these products in, and that’s a part of the ongoing investigation,” he said.
Hawkins suspects there are other stores in the county selling similar products.
“We’re going to continue to look at these convenience stores and these vape shops to make sure that the products that they have on their shelf are being sold legally,” he said. “If not, then they’ll face the same consequences,” he said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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