TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man has been arrested after police found that he was selling illegal drugs and illegally selling second hand cellphones from a Tallahassee store.
The Tallahassee Police Department says that they began looking deeper into Speeds Grocery after they investigated over 80 incidents at the business over the last six months.
With the assistance of the Division of Alcohol, Beverage and Tobacco, the investigation revealed signs of illegal drug sales from within the business.
Using the information gathered, the investigators got a search warrant approved for the business on July 18.
On Monday, TPD investigators served the search warrant at the store, located at 801 Floral Street.
During the search, Chirayo Patel was the only person located behind the front counter upon entry and is the manager of the store.
As the business was searched by the officers, evidence of illegal drug sales was found as well as cannabis packaged for sale, which was found in an “employee only” area.
The officers also found evidence of a second hand cellphone sales shop. They say Patel did not have a dealer license for a cell phone sales location.
Patel was also the focus of search warrant served by TPD at Speeds Grocery in October of 2016.
During that search warrant, Mr. Patel was educated on who he would need to talk to in order to get proper licensing and operate the cell phone sales shop business properly.
Based on that information, police say there is reasonable belief Patel knew he was operating a second hand sales shop.
Patel was arrested and charged with maintaining a shop where dangerous drugs are kept and secondhand dealer violation.
He later bonded out of the Leon County Jail.
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