Drug Team Arrests Two Men, Seizes 12 Pounds of Pot

A narcotics team has arrested two men and seized 12 pounds of marijuana and about $35,000 -- some of which was found in a home on West Balboa Boulevard-- in connection with a Lake Forest marijuana dispensary, authorities said.

Investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Department raided Charles Café, a  of Lake Forest Drive and Dimension, on Thursday afternoon.

A vendor of pot-infused edibles, the store had previously been . That move ended in two arrests as well, and ostensibly shuttered the shop.

However, the store has continued operating, albeit less conspicuously, according to city officials.

Members of the South Narcotics and the Special Investigations Bureau on Thursday afternoon to serve search warrants Thursday afternoon in Lake Forest related to the storefront.

Police found 12 pounds of marijuana at the store and arrested two men on charges of possession of marijuana for sale.

In custody are Even Chan, 38, of Irvine, who police suspect is the owner of Charles Café's, and 25-year-old Kalvin Tsui of Montery Park, believed to be the store manager. Tsui was arrested at the shop, Chan in Irvine.

Included in the warrant were two residences, one associated with Chan on the 90 block of Costa Brava in Irvine and a second connected to Tsui, on the 1600 block of West Balboa Boulevard in Newport Beach.

There, police found more than $35,000 in cash.

On Friday, a small handwritten sign posted to the front door of the store read: "Closed for remodeling. Sorry for any inconvieniences this may have caused. Thanks."

Furniture from the dispensary—including a pastry display case that once held marijuana edibles—had been removed and placed on the walkway in front of the store.