Undercover Operation Spawns Raids Days
Before Abbott Deadline for THC Ban Veto
Capitol Inside
June 18, 2025
The timing of law enforcement raids at licensed hemp distribution businesses in Dallas appears to be a highly suspicious move just days before the deadline for Governor Greg Abbott's decision on whether to sign or veto legislation that would put them out of business with a ban on THC products.
Police officers from the Collin County suburb of Allen - with a reported assist from Drug Enforcement Agency agents - executed search warrants on Tuesday at three warehouses in north central Dallas where they said undercover officers had purchased THC products that are illegal. Officers also showed up unannounced for related searches at private residences in Plano, Carrollton and Colleyville.
While police seized products that were tagged as evidence and placed in boxes that were loaded into trucks, the raids have not produced any arrests or the filing of criminal charges up to now. The Allen Police Department said the searches were the culmination of an undercover operations that's been under way for several months.
“These purchases provided critical evidence supporting today’s enforcement actions," the suburban police agency. "Detectives are also working to determine where the financial proceeds from these illegal operations are being directed—whether they are remaining within the United States and/or being diverted overseas.”
The law enforcement agencies raided the warehouses at a time when Abbott has been deliberating the fate of the THC prohibition in Senate Bill 3. The governor has a Sunday deadline for final calls on legislation that emerged from the regular session that ended on June 2.
Lawyers for the targeted distributors - Monster, Frontline Wholesale and Cannafy Distribution - are portraying the raids as a publicity stunt.
“Monster Distribution has complied with the law in every way," San Marcos attorney David Sergi said. "They relied in good faith on licensed, accredited labs to verify that the products meet all legal standards. This raid was not based on facts. It was based on political theater. And when law enforcement acts outside its authority to deprive businesses and individuals of their rights and property, it raises serious legal concerns.”
Abbott could become the first governor in a U.S. state to wipe out an entire industry that's operated legally for six years with more than 10,000 small businesses that employ 53,000 people across Texas. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who championed the THC ban, has been attempting to apply unprecedented pressure on Abbott in sign SB 3.
The lieutenant governor has been accused of shilling for the beer industry and police organizations that were the most potent forces outside of the Legislature in the push to ban cannabis. But Patrick hasn't been able to find any evidence to support frantic claims that hemp products that are infused with THC are poisoning Texas kids and adults and destroying families across the state.
Patrick conducted his own quasi-undercover operation in the early stages of the regular session when he showed up by surprise at an Austin dispensary in an apparent attempt to expose it as illegal. Patrick appeared to be caught off guard, however, when a clerk asked to see his driver's license as the first order of business there.
According to the Cannabis Business Times, the companies that were targeted in Dallas distribute "fully federally compliant hemp-derived products" that are sold nationwide and "verified by certificates of analysis (COAs) from certified laboratories" that are linked to QR codes on all of the businesses' products. COAs must be signed by lab directors who are registered with the DEA.
Patrick said on Wednesday that police seized 75,000 pounds of consumable THC products in the Dallas area raids the day before.
more to come ...
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