[420 Girl]

Authorities raided smoke shops in three North County cities this week, confiscating hundreds of pipes and other items they said constitute drug paraphernalia.

On Wednesday, the Sheriff's Department served search warrants in San Marcos and Vista. The next day, Escondido police served seven warrants at smoke shops in that city.

Authorities held a news conference Friday afternoon to talk about the operation and display some of the seized items.

About 40 law enforcement personnel were involved in Thursday's raids, authorities said. They included Escondido police officers and technicians, sheriff's deputies, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Reporters were allowed to go along on the raids on the condition that they not publish or broadcast stories until after the news conference at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

The raids followed an Oct. 22 bust in Imperial Beach during which sheriff's deputies confiscated 2,500 pipes from two stores, Up in Smoke and Inner Visions.

Escondido police said the District Attorney's Office had sent letters to the North County shops telling them what items to remove from shelves. Some complied; others did not.

At least one Escondido smoke-shop employee was cited Thursday as police confiscated rows of glass pipes from Smokin' Glass on South Centre City Parkway.

Chris Pancner, the store manager, said he was cited for selling drug paraphernalia to minors. He denied that he broke the law.
“We've been in full compliance since we opened,” he said. “We've never sold any questionable products. All of our products are for tobacco use.”
Pancner said a few items seized from the store cost from $200 to $1,800

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