Philadelphia Representative Amen Brown is waging a campaign against illegal smoke shops across the city, targeting stores he says are involved in drug sales and the trafficking of out-of-state cigarettes in his district.
“We don’t need establishments like this just popping up overnight, over the weekend with a grand opening sign saying come buy this weed,” said Brown.
The Raid at 4026 Convenience Store
On Friday morning, after days of undercover work, authorities raided the 4026 Convenience Store in West Philadelphia , a 24-hour operation neighbors had flagged as a persistent problem.
Brown confirmed the store was found with guns, drugs, and cash. “It’s not the first time it was hit, but first time we successfully hit it,” he said.
“It’s 24 hours. People just pull up all day, every day. I knew it had to be something.” , Cynthia Ebo
Concerns About Young Customers
Brown stressed that protecting children remains one of his top priorities in the crackdown.
“More importantly, they were serving the children; the kind of marijuana they were selling is contaminated with multiple deadly pathogens,” said Brown.
A Broader Crackdown
The Friday raid is part of a larger operation conducted in partnership with Philadelphia Police and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office.
- 13 smoke shops shut down in the last three months
- 30 additional smoke shops identified for pursuit within Brown’s district
Police Response and Owner Comment
Police confirmed a narcotics operation took place at the location but declined to reveal whether any arrests had been made or charges filed against the owners.
Action News made multiple attempts to reach the owner of the convenience store for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.