Police seize illegal tobacco, cannabis at Cicero smoke shop

A Cicero smoke shop became the latest target in a crackdown on gray-market tobacco and cannabis sales after police said a search warrant turned up illegal products at Power Exotics on Brewerton Road.

Cicero police worked with New York State Troopers to execute the warrant after multiple reports that the shop had been selling to minors. The seizure put a spotlight on a problem that matters far beyond one storefront: products that should not be reaching teenagers can flow through suburban retail corridors, worry parents trying to keep nicotine and cannabis out of school-age hands, and erode trust in the businesses operating legally beside them.

New York State law and Onondaga County local law both prohibit tobacco sales to anyone under 21. State guidance says retailers should ask for proof of age from anyone who looks under 25, and New York also bans the sale of flavored nicotine-containing vapor products. Onondaga County says it conducts compliance checks at every facility that sells tobacco products, reflecting how seriously local officials are treating age-restricted sales.

The warrant also landed in the middle of a wider enforcement push against unlicensed cannabis and tobacco sales across Central New York. The New York State Office of Cannabis Management said its 2024 enforcement work helped seal and padlock about 350 unlicensed cannabis storefronts statewide. Separate 2024 reporting on the Central New York crackdown said 24 illegal weed shops were shut in the region, including 17 in Onondaga County.

For licensed cannabis retailers, that matters economically. Illegal smoke shops that move unlicensed cannabis or restricted tobacco products can undercut businesses that pay for licenses, follow testing and labeling rules, and operate under state oversight. That creates a price advantage for the gray market and can pull customers away from legitimate stores in Cicero and elsewhere in Onondaga County.

The Cicero case also followed a pattern already familiar to local law enforcement. In 2023, a multi-agency operation involving Cicero police and New York State Police targeted stores suspected of selling nicotine products to minors, and earlier reporting from that effort identified a Cicero smoke shop case that led to an arrest for unlawfully dealing with a child in the second degree.

For schools, parents, and nearby business owners, the message from the latest warrant was clear: complaints can trigger formal action, and police are increasingly treating suspicious smoke shops and convenience stores as enforcement priorities when illegal products are involved.