Four Charged After Southington PD Smoke Shop Sweep: Police

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Local police Thursday announced four arrests linked to multiple smoke shops reportedly selling vape products to minors and illegally selling THC products.

The charges came after the SPD received complaints from the public and the town's substance-free advocacy agency, the Southington STEPS Coalition.

According to police, the complaints were "concerning the sale of vape products to underage people and the sale of THC products from several smoke shops” located within the Town of Southington."

As a result, charges were brought up against four men associated with four different smoke shops.

Those charged, police said, were:

• Torun Okten, 57, was charged Tuesday, July 9, with possession with intent to sell more than 1 kilogram of cannabis and possession of more than 8 ounces of cannabis or a related product.

After being held on a $30,000 bond, he will appear in New Britain Superior Court on July 24.

• Hasmit Kharbanda, 43, was charged on June 25 with possession with intent to sell more than 1 kilogram of cannabis and possession of more than 8 ounces of cannabis or related product.

After being held on a $5,000 bond, he will appear in New Britain Superior Court on June 25.

• Mohamed Alwishha, 30, was charged June 21 with possession with intent to sell more than 1 kilogram of cannabis and possession of more than 8 ounces of cannabis or related product.

After being held on a $5,000 bond, he was to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Monday, July 8.

• Khaled Ahmed, 28, was charged June 12 with possession with intent to sell more than 1 kilogram of cannabis and possession of more than 8 ounces of cannabis or related product.

After being held on a $5,000 bond, he was to appear in New Britain Superior Court on June 28.

Southington police said the department's special investigations unit issued three separate search warrants for local "smoke shops" in town.

Those searches were conducted May 14, police said, by the department's detective division, the patrol division, and the state Department of Consumer Protection's Drug Control Division.

The investigation centered on the following smoke shops in Southington:

• Puff City, 244 Queen St., where about 467 packages of THS products were seized.

Police said the weight of seized materials was 39.02 pounds, along with $1,412 in currency seized.

• Cigar N Vape, 400 N. Main St., where about 329 packages of THC products were seized (24.2 pounds) and $341.50 in currency was seized.

• K&M Smoke Shop, 1672 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, where about 219 packages of THC products were seized (13.6 pounds) and nearly $300 in currency was seized.

Police said, based on the investigations and the seized items, the SPD sought four arrest warrants for the owners of the smoke shops.

"The Southington Police Department would like to thank the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Drug Control Division along with the West Hartford Police Department Community Support Unit for their assistance in this investigation," the SPD wrote Thursday.