The chief led his department, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in executing search warrants for three wholesale smoke shop warehouses on Tuesday. They seized an estimated 75,000 pounds of THC products and $7 million worth of cash and assets, according to CBS News.
“These search warrants were the result of several months of investigation, during which undercover officers, on multiple occasions, purchased illegal THC products directly from the warehouses,” Allen Police said to CBS News, which filmed parts of the raid in collaboration with the department. “These purchases provided critical evidence supporting today’s enforcement actions.”
The three wholesalers' owners, Monster Smoke Warehouse, Frontline Wholesale and Cannify Distribution, were also served search warrants at their residential properties across North Texas. According to Monster Smoke Warehouse’s attorney, David Sergi, no arrests have been made as of June 18.
Sergi represents several smoke shops and wholesalers across Texas that have been subject to police raids. The attorney has ongoing lawsuits against Dye, the DEA and the Allen Police, with more on the way. Other attorneys representing smoke shops raided by the department have filed similar suits, and smoke shops across the state have procured legal counsel in preparation for litigation against the state if the proposed THC ban goes into effect. It was passed by the Legislature and is awaiting action by Gov. Greg Abbott, who could veto it.
“We've already sued Chief Dye,” Sergu said. “We'll be amending that lawsuit to hold him to account for what he has now done and to hold Allen, as well as the other entities, to [accountable for] essentially trying to run the business out even before September.”
It's Not The First Time
The recent raids, assisted by the DEA, are part of a large-scale initiative spearheaded by Dye, who has described hemp products as a “plague.” Just seven months after being sworn in as chief, he led his team in raiding nine smoke shops in August 2024.The chief traveled to Austin several times during the 89th legislative session to campaign for Senate Bill 3, the THC ban measure.
“Labels on many products do not reflect the actual level of THC inside the packaging, which is leading to accidental intoxications, overdoses and increased addiction for these psychoactive products, particularly to our youth,” Dye said to the Senate before the bill passed.
In one of his testimonies at the Capitol, the chief was caught exaggerating the severity of THC intoxication in his jurisdiction, claiming illegally potent products had resulted in two deaths. A local sleuth requested the death records Dye had referenced and found that both individuals had died from opiate overdoses.
The false allegations of fatal effects have been echoed by the Senate leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who matches Dye’s fervency in ridding the state of THC products and passionately pursued SB 3’s passage the entirety of the session.
"[They] found a loophole to make synthetic cannabis, which is more powerful and more potent than anything we've ever seen before," Patrick said in Lubbock while on his post-session 12-city tour. "It's killing and threatening to kill, damaging young people and young adults who go to these vape shops and smoke shops all around the state."
Just yesterday, Allen Police Department and the DEA raided three warehouses selling dangerous THC to our children, seizing 75,000 pounds of consumable products.
— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) June 18, 2025
Allen Police Chief Steve Dye said it best:
"You don't have to go to your drug dealer anymore to buy drugs. You can go…
Sergi and countless hemp-industry stakeholders claim that eradicating the hemp industry as a whole is overly reactionary when countless Texans safely distribute and consume the products.
“It's unfortunate that a very small group of law enforcement and a very small group of politicians are pushing this when it's really the will of the people that these products be legal,” Sergi said.
What's Next?
Products with equal to or less than 0.3% THC concentration have been legal in Texas since 2019. In just six years, the intoxicating hemp industry has exploded, with 8,500 licensed retailers and $8 billion in total revenue. But nearly of that is likely to go away in just a few months, unlessAbbott chooses to veto the bill.The governor has not indicated what action he will take on the matter. If he chooses not to sign, but also does not veto the bill, it will automatically become law.
“There are people on both sides of the issue that have concerns, and those concerns need to be looked at,” he said on June 11. “This is a time when I will once again put on my judicial hat and weigh arguments from both sides and figure out a pathway forward.”
