Police Find as Many as 400 Pieces of Illegal Drug Paraphernalia in Tinley Tobacco Shop

Though police didn't find a thief when they responded Sunday to a burglar alarm at a local tobacco shop, they did find something else they deemed illegal—between 300 and 400 glass pipes, grinders and "one hitters," to be exact.

Cops first stopped by #1 Tobacco Plus, 8021 183rd St., around 12:30 p.m., after they got word of a possible break-in.

"We noticed that there was drug paraphernalia out in the open and we asked them to remove it," Cmndr. Steve Vaccaro said. "They complied, so it wasn't a problem."

Although such drug equipment is legal throughout much of Illinois, it's outlawed in Tinley Park under the local Drug Paraphernalia Act, Vaccaro said. He noted that disobeying that law in the future could lead to a business code violation being slapped on the tobacco shop.

"Other shops can usually get away with selling that kind of paraphernalia because it's marketed as a product used to smoke tobacco," Vaccaro said. "But the village's policy is that it's indicative of drug use, so we don't allow it."

While they were there, police also visited a couple of other smoke shops in the strip mall to see if they were complying with the local ordinance, according to the police report. All checked out except one, Express Tobacco, which was selling synthetic forms of marijuana that officers were still looking into Tuesday.

Police found 35 to 40 circular containers labeled "Red Magic" and "Shazam," according to the report. They weren't able to get a list of brand names of illegal synthetic marijuana, the report said, and no field tests were available for the substances found in the store.

Police told the manager of that store to stop selling the items until their legality can be confirmed. Vaccaro said investigators are still checking on it.

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