Inside the investigation: Allen smoke shop raids
ALLEN — You have to be 21 years old to buy a vape in Texas, but police say that isn't stopping some stores from selling to minors, and in many cases, they say the THC products are well over the legal limit.
In late August, Allen police and the Drug Enforcement Agency raided nine shops across the city. It took just a matter of hours to seize inventory and make arrests, but the operation began months ago.
The CBS News Texas I-Team went inside the investigation, from the undercover purchases to the lab testing, and spoke with parents who said stores were selling to their kids.
Use or possession of a THC vape at school is a felony in Texas. The I-Team pulled records from districts across DFW and found more than 9,000 cases of kids caught with vapes during the 203-2024 school year.
Hover your mouse over the districts below to see each case count.
The owners of City Vapes did not respond to our requests for comment.
David Sergi is a hemp attorney who represents the other eight businesses that were raided by Allen police. He sent CBS News Texas this statement:
"The actions of Allen, Texas Police Department, and the DEA are an escalation of the tactics used in other parts of the state to intimidate businesses selling legal hemp-based products.
These local, family-owned businesses are operating legally. The Allen, Texas Police Department and the DEA overstepped their authority by destroying products, taking point-of-sale systems and records, and confiscating personal computers belonging to employees.
There is a right way and a wrong way under Texas law to deal with products that may be out of compliance. They have gone down the completely wrong path and will be held accountable.
Allen Hemp Coalition represents some of the businesses targeted in the legally questionable raids. They are currently in court fighting for their right to operate legally as prescribed by Federal and Texas law. We successfully stayed a subpoena from the DEA, a subpoena that was a blatant fishing expedition."