Texas Department of Public Safety agents and local police fanned out across North Texas to serve search warrants at 13 Scorpion Smoke Shop locations, walking away with nearly $5 million in cash and other assets, 23 vehicles, and a haul of THC products, marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms. No arrests had been made at the time the raids became public, and the investigation remains active.
DPS led the multi-agency operation, according to FOX 4, which reported that officers seized nearly $5 million in U.S. currency and other assets along with the 23 vehicles and thousands of grams of suspected THC, marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms. The station's report also cites unconfirmed figures suggesting the seizure included 11,468 suspected THC products, 5,475 grams of marijuana, 33,455 grams of THC and 33,867 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.
What Investigators Say They Found
DPS Criminal Investigations Division special agents said they found smokable THC and hemp-derived products being sold at the Scorpion Smoke Shop locations, per the same account. Laboratory analysis on some of those products turned up delta-9 THC concentrations as high as 26%, a figure authorities flagged as far exceeding what state rules permit for legal consumable THC products.
The raids were described as part of a broader, ongoing DPS effort to root out Texas businesses unlawfully selling non-compliant THC and hemp products, the article notes. A separate report from Yahoo News similarly described the sweep as part of a broader investigation into businesses that may be illegally selling THC and hemp-derived products.
Multiple Agencies Joined the Sweep
The operation drew help from several outside agencies. Yahoo News reported that the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office, Canton Police Department, Kaufman County District Attorney's Task Force and Wills Point Police Department all assisted, while a separate Yahoo News report on the broader investigation named the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office and the Forney Police Department as additional participants alongside DPS.
No Arrests Reported, Investigation Ongoing
Despite the scale of the seizures, no arrests had been reported at the time of publication, and officials said the investigation remains ongoing. That detail was echoed in a report from WFAA, which noted it had not received a response from Scorpion Smoke Shop as of its publication.
Why THC Potency Matters
The 26% delta-9 THC readings cited in the raids sit at the heart of why regulators are watching shops like these so closely. The federal Food and Drug Administration has separately warned that delta-8 THC products, a related hemp derivative sold in many smoke shops, have not been evaluated or approved for safe use and may be marketed in ways that put public health at risk, according to the FDA. With the DPS investigation still open and no charges filed, it remains unclear what, if any, legal action will follow for the Scorpion Smoke Shop locations searched across North Texas.
