DERBY — A 19-year-old vape shop employee faces five drug charges after police said he was found he was in possession of illegal amounts of cannabis and cannabis-related products.
Alzubair Kaid, no hometown provided, was charged Nov. 12 with operating a drug factory, two counts of possession with intent to sell cannabis, and two counts of possession of cannabis.
According to a statement posted to Facebook, Derby police and the state Department of Consumer Protection were investigating the Zaza Smoke Shop at 49 Pershing Drive for allegedly selling cannabis. While cannabis has been legalized to a point in Connecticut, it is still illegal to sell it without state authorization.
Police said they found about six pounds of illegal cannabis in the store, along with about 39 pounds of cannabis-related products. They alleged Kaid was working in the store at the time of the discovery and told police he didn’t know the products were against the law.
Police said the store was closed, and that Kaid returned later in the day with two large bags containing about 11 bags of cannabis and four pounds of cannabis-related products.
Kaid was then arrested. He is due in court Nov. 20.
Police previously arrested Zaza employees in September and October 2024.
In the October 2024 arrest, Zaza employee Ibrahim Elhadje of Danbury, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, operating a drug factory, and possession with intent to sell. An online court database showed that his case has been on the docket 10 times, and that an order for his re-arrest was issued Sept. 11.
The September 2025 raid resulted in the arrest of Hamda Alawdi, 25, and Abdelkader Brahim, 25.
Brahim’s case has been on the court docket three times. He has not entered a plea and is due in court Jan. 8, 2026. The same is true for Alawdi, according to court records.
Earlier this year members of the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission voted to prohibit new vape shops from opening anywhere in the city.