4-02-2023 2:51am

Employees Busted Selling Minors E-Cigarettes At Suffolk County Businesses, Police Say

Samantha Hespos Editor

Long Island, NY

Authorities reported that within a three-hour period, four employees working at four different shops located on Long Island were apprehended for purportedly vending vape items to underage individuals. Thousands of unlawful goods were seized by the police.

According to police reports, on Thursday, March 30 at around 4:20 p.m., Hardinger Singh, a 27-year-old resident of Queens, was taken into custody after selling a vaping product to an individual under the legal age at the Lucky Spot Smoke Shop on Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon.

He is facing charges for the act of vending E-cigarettes to an individual who has not yet attained the age of twenty-one years.

Mr. Dharmendra Gadhavi, an inhabitant of Babylon and aged 36 years, was reportedly employed at The Barn situated on Deer Park Avenue in Babylon. At approximately 5:10 p.m., he was apprehended for allegedly vending a vaping item to an individual who had not attained the age of 21 years.

He has been accused of:

Distributing E-Cigarette to an individual who is under 21 years old

Engaging in deceitful behavior by impersonating someone else.

Police authorities have reported that Joseph Lombardi, an 18-year-old resident of Coram, was apprehended within the vicinity of Mount Sinai on charges of distributing both cannabis and nicotine/vape products to a minor. It has been confirmed that Lombardi serves as an employee at MNT Convenience Vape, located along Route 347.

He has been accused of: The illicit marketing of cannabis and the distribution of nicotine/vape products to individuals who are under the age of 21 are considered illegal activities.

Subsequently, at precisely 7:34 p.m., Vipulkumar Patel, aged 35 and a resident of Farmingdale, was taken into custody at Miller Place Vape, located on Route 25A in Miller Place.

He stands accused of the following charges:
Two violations related to the illicit trade of nicotine/vape products, sold to individuals under 21 years of age.

Throughout the course of four investigations, law enforcement officers report that they have seized numerous illicit items, including flavored vape and THC-infused products, from various commercial establishments.

All potential offenders have been served field appearance tickets and will be arraigned on a future occasion.