IRWIN, PA – A warehouse in Pittston Township searched by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is linked to the arrests of 12 people who allegedly trafficked and sold high-potency marijuana products in stores, mostly vape shops, across the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the arrests during a news conference in Irwin, Westmoreland County, southwestern Pennsylvania, on Monday. Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce attended the news conference.
In 2025, agents with the Attorney General’s Office searched a warehouse at 159 Center Point Boulevard in the Center Point Commons industrial district in Pittston Township, just off Interstate 81.
Sunday announced the 12 defendants were part of a criminal organization that trafficked marijuana and other high-level THC products from warehouses to convenience stores.
Several members of the group are also charged with laundering millions of dollars connected to the illegal profits, primarily using LLC fronts to mask the sources of income, often through cash deposits. Investigators traced about $18.7 million to illegal proceeds, Sunday said.
“This criminal enterprise took deliberate steps to distribute these illegal narcotics, statewide, then to conceal the millions and millions of dollars they profited from the scheme. Many of the products seized over the course of the investigation were packaged and flavored to attract children. Collaboration with law enforcement partners led to the take down of this sophisticated network in the form of very serious charges,” Sunday said Monday.
During the investigation, agents seized approximately 150,000 items from three warehouse locations that served as the primary distribution hubs, including the one in Pittston Township. The other two are located in Plum Borough, Allegheny County and Bensalem, Bucks County.
The charges were the result of a statewide grand jury investigation and a 51-page indictment against the 12 defendants.
According to the indictment, the investigation began when state agents launched an investigation based on complaints of vape shops in Westmoreland County selling marijuana, which led to the discovery of the warehouses being used to distribute the illegal products that were packaged to attract children. Products were packaged in candy bags.
The search of the warehouse in Center Point Commons was the last warehouse searched and resulted from financial accounts discovered during a traffic stop by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper in Chester County, according to the indictment. A total of 14 pallets of illegal narcotics were seized from the warehouse in Pittston Township, according to the indictment.
“The Luzerne County warehouse is operated by Nirav Patel and Madhav Patel. Labor and Industry records show that Nirav and Madhav Patel, among others, received wages from the warehouse,” the indictment says.
The indictment further alleges Nirav Patel and Madhav Patel are co-owners of OLF LLC, which owns a strip plaza that also houses their own vape shop. The indictment does not say where the strip mall or vape shop is located.
Nirav Patel and Madhav Patel are among the 12 people charged in the drug trafficking and money laundering ring. The others are Albina Kumar, Duttkumar Patel, Palak Patel, Divyesh Patel, Ketankumar Patel, Niravkumar Vora, Roshniben Patel, Ankitkumar Patel, and Mitul Patel.
Ages and addresses were not listed for the defendants.
Local law enforcement agencies assisting in the investigation were the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, and Jenkins Township and Moosic police departments.
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