Thou Shall Not Bogart: Church Busted As Marijuana Dispensary

LA PUENTE, CA — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department seized more than $20,000 worth of marijuana from a dispensary that was falsely operating as a church and arrested two people in La Puente, authorities said Thursday.

The bust, which was the result of a three-week investigation, occurred around 1 p.m. Wednesday in the 15500 block of Amar Road where the dispensary was professing itself to be "The Citadel Church of La Puente," according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Sheriff's Information Bureau.

Through the investigation, authorities discovered the "church" was a dispensary selling marijuana, concentrated cannabis such as marijuana wax, various marijuana packaging and edibles such as chocolate bars, Navarro-Suarez said.

About four to five pounds of marijuana products, three small digital scales and surveillance equipment were also seized from the dispensary, which has a license issued by the city of La Puente to repair cellphones, according to Navarro-Suarez.

A man, who is a known gang member, and a woman were arrested at the scene but were later cited and released, Navarro-Suarez said.

Along with the $295 in U.S. currency seized at the location, the combined street value of the finished product for sale was estimated to be between $20,000 and $30,000, authorities said.

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City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock