By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on Friday announced the interception of an unlicensed interstate cannabis operation that transported thousands of pounds of illegal cannabis product from California into Queens. Six people have been charged and more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of approximately $2.5 million, was confiscated as well hundreds of packages of cannabis product, following a search of two trucks and two storage locations in Maspeth and Long Island City.
Eduardo Lopez, 29, and Courtney Ferguson, 40, both of Manhattan; Emerson Ramos Garcia, 24, of Bayside; Jose Carbajal Enamorado, 24, of Jackson Heights; and Erzhena Mitupova, 34, and Anna Migal, 47, of Kew Gardens, were arraigned on Thursday on a criminal complaint charging them with criminal possession of cannabis in the first degree.
According to the investigation and the charges, intelligence operations began in April 2025 into the ongoing illegal transportation and sale of cannabis products from California to Queens. The product was transported via tractor-trailer-style trucks and delivered to a SecureSpace self-storage unit on Borden Avenue in Maspeth.
Lopez and Ramos Garcia allegedly received these deliveries at the storage location on a weekly basis. The product would then be divided and transferred to a storage unit, a distributor or customer vehicles.
On July 30, at approximately 11:10 a.m., Ramos Garcia was observed arriving at the loading dock in a black Dodge Ram pickup truck. Multiple cardboard boxes were allegedly loaded into the pickup and Carbajal Enamorado entered the front passenger seat before Ramos Garcia drove away.
That same day, at approximately 12:10 p.m., Migal arrived at the self-storage facility driving a white Volvo semi-tractor trailer bearing a California license plate. The Volvo had a trailer attached to the truck bearing a Maine license plate. Mitupova was in the passenger seat of the Volvo.
Migal and Mitupova were greeted by Carbajal Enamorado, Lopez and Ferguson. Lopez and Ferguson then allegedly began to unload the truck, removing multiple boxes and bringing them inside the storage facility.
At approximately 5 p.m. that same day, court-authorized search warrants were conducted for the Dodge Ram, the Volvo, the storage unit and an additional storage facility on 30th Street in Long Island City.
Officers recovered 1,847.70 pounds of THC flower, including hundreds of one-pound pre-packed bags, as well as hundreds of pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes, 998.50 pounds of THC vape pens and a vacuum seal machine for packaging and distribution.
A check with the New York State Office of Cannabis Management revealed that none of the defendants, nor either of the storage facilities, possessed a license to sell cannabis in the state.
“As alleged, the defendants ran a large-scale operation, illegally transporting thousands of pounds of illicit cannabis into this borough,” Katz said. “The seizure of these types of THC products that are sold illegally very often lead to harm in our communities. It is the reason that legal shops go through a rigorous approval process by the state.”
If convicted, each defendant faces a potential maximum of 2 1/3 to seven years in prison.
