THC sold at Nassau smoke shops, six arrested, police say

A search warrant raid on five Evolve Smoke Shops in Nassau County Thursday led to the arrests of six men on drug-related charges, Nassau County police said.

Police said Major Case Bureau and Narcotics/Vice Squad detectives from the Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team made the arrests during the executions of search warrants after it "was determined Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was being sold" at the five locations. Police said that during the searches "large quantities" of Tetrahydrocannabinol were recovered, along with MDMA, heroin and cash.

Police said the stores raided in the searches were: 612 South Oyster Bay Road, Hicksville; 234 A Jericho Turnpike, Mineola; 611 Main Street, Farmingdale; 28 A Hempstead Turnpike, Farmingdale; and 394 North Wantagh Avenue, Bethpage.

Arrested were: Mohamed Elfeky, 31, of Huntington Station; Hardik Sureshbhai Patel, 24, Mineola; Rashmin S. Patel, 27, Hauppauge; Mauleshkumar R. Patel, 36, Fresh Meadows; Manpreet Walia, 25, Bethpage; and Mahendrakumar V. Patel, 36, of Flushing.

Police said Elfeky was charged with fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The other five men were each charged with fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

All six face arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.

It was not immediately clear if any of those arrested were represented by counsel.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”