Shelby Twp PD: medical supply store a front for pot shop

Police in Shelby Township raided a medical supply store that they, and nearby business said, was actually in the marijuana business.

Pam Bock works at Fabulous Finishes nearby and said every day, it was like clockwork 

"Everyday after 3:00 PM, you can smell it. We have customers who ask if we have a skunk in the building," Bock said.

No skunk. But FOX 2 was there as police were raiding the marijuana dispensary that was fronting as a medical supply store in a Shelby Twp strip mall. Bock was right -- you can smell it from right outside the door.

The frosted glass out front covered up what Shelby Police Chief Robert Shelide says was really going on.

"They have a lot of moxie thinking they can do this right under our nose a block away from the police station," Shelide said.
 
The business. Advanced Medical Supply, first applied for a permit in February. Right away, police knew something just wasn't right and over the past several months they've made at least four undercover buys here. Eventually, it lead to Friday's bust.

"They were operating like a Starbucks. Obviously coffee is legal - marijuana in this community is illegal," Shelide said.

Some 50 officers including some from the DEA and FBI helped bust the bogus store and raid four other homes connected to it at the same time They also arrested four people at the shop and confiscated marijuana, edibles and a wax known as shatter on the street that's basically pure THC.

"We were just talking about how this would come to a head then I come out and see guns blazing and I mean big guns," Bock said.

This is the 2nd raid at a marijuana dispensary in Shelby Township this year although this is the largest by far. For Shelide, he wants everyone to know that this kind of stuff will not be tolerated.

"I think they are trying to blur the lines of the law. The law is clear on this," he said.

Investigators estimate they were bringing in $8,000 a day in marijuana sales. That's a quarter million a month. that's a lot of money and a lot of drugs and this is a serious crime, they are working with the prosecutors office on charges now.