Police arrest eight people after searching illegal cannabis store in San Fernando Valley

Los Angeles police arrested eight people at an illegal cannabis store in the San Fernando Valley after serving a search warrant, officials said Wednesday.

About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mission Area Narcotics Unit searched a cannabis retail shop in the 15400 block of Devonshire Street and confiscated several items of evidence and contraband, police said in a news release.

The store was operating without proper permits and was considered a nuisance location, authorities said.

“Mission officers will continue to take an enforcement stance against these illegal businesses,” said Natalie Cortez of the Mission division. “We value our community’s safety and this type of illegally operated business only brings in an unwanted criminal element.”

Despite legalization of recreational cannabis use in California, the state’s black market has flourished and local officials have been cracking down on businesses, grow sites and labs operating illegally.

On Sept. 7, City Atty. Mike Feuer charged more than 500 people in connection with 105 illegal cannabis businesses, grow sites, extraction labs and delivery companies throughout the city.

In San Diego County, federal agents raided a drug lab in Mission Hills on Tuesday, seizing a large quantity of THC extract that is typically used to make cannabis edibles. A Drug Enforcement Agency spokeswoman said the search was part of an ongoing investigation.

Email Reyes-Velarde at alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com or tweet her at @r_valejandra.