If You Live in North Brooklyn and Smoke Pot, Your Supplier Probably Just Got Busted

Photos courtesy of the NYPD

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — Huge news, this otherwise uneventful Friday, for North Brooklyn's increasingly lackadaisical (yet, we are reminded, still illegal) pot and psychedelics ecosystem.

The NYPD just announced that its Criminal Enterprise Investigations Unit, with backup from Homeland Security, has uncovered what could turn out to be one of the largest marijuana operations in NYC history.

So far, two local men are accused of involvement in the alleged $10-million-per-year operation: Philip Feng, 36, of Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights, and Victor Bae, 35, of Eagle Street in Greenpoint.

On Wednesday, police said they watched Feng and Bae pick up a shipping container from ABF Freight at 414 Maspeth Ave. — a shipping company located on the border of Greenpoint and Bushwick, along the Newtown Creek waterfront.

"The males loaded the container into a truck and drove to 234 Java St." in central Greenpoint, police said in a news release. "Further investigation revealed that the vehicle contained approximately 300 pounds of marijuana."

(The vehicle was later described by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office as a 2007 Chevy box truck with Arizona plates and U-Haul markings.)

By the following day — Thursday — cops had obtained a search warrant for the unassuming warehouse on Java. (The building pictured above with the "No Parking" sign.)

Here's what they found inside, according to the NYPD and the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.

• 150 pounds of marijuana

• 1,100 packed containers of retail-ready marijuana, mushrooms (180 grams), liquid THC, liquid PCP and liquid HGH, with an approximate street value of $2.5 million

• $100,000 in cash

• A loaded .22 North American Arms revolver

And here are the initial charges against Feng and Bae.

• Criminal Sale of Marijuana

• Criminal Possession of a Weapon

• Criminal Possession of Marijuana

• Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance

• Criminal Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

The suspects were arraigned late Friday afternoon, according to the Brooklyn DA.

The NYPD's press office could not provide immediate context on how this week's weed bust in Greenpoint compares to past weed busts throughout the city, in size and scope. However, an NYPD spokeswoman called it "definitely one of our larger seizures."

And to compare, the late Arthur Mondella, Red Hook maraschino cherry magnate and No. 1 pot grower in NYC history, was also believed to be reaping around $10 million per year from his crop.

But also: It's important to note that Feng and Bae have not been charged with "conspiracy to distribute" or any of the other blockbuster charges usually associated with a drug bust of this caliber. And those charges usually take months of investigation to prove. So, while authorities have cracked this operation's supply house wide open, its ringleaders could very well still be out there somewhere, albeit totally freaking out right now.

Patch has contacted the manager of ABF Freight in Greenpoint for comment on his equipment's alleged role in the scheme. Stay tuned for updates.