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Police raided the Relief Centre three times since it opened in defiance of the law in September 2017. The business also was robbed at least twice before a gate was placed over the entrance after the most recent crackdown on Dec. 13, 2018.

The dispensary’s landlord, an Ontario numbered company, was charged with permitting a premise to be used for the sale or distribution of cannabis following a joint operation by the OPP and London police on Nov. 20, 2018.

The charge against the numbered company was withdrawn on Feb. 4, court records show.

Patrick Ambrogio is the director of the company, according to corporate records.

Ambrogio didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser says the AGCO asks applicants whether their proposed retail locations have ever been used to sell marijuana.

“Obviously, if you answer a question falsely that would definitely be a problem,” said Fraser, who advises the cannabis industry.

The commission would look into whether there are any possible connections between the operators of the illegal London dispensary and the lottery winner, Fraser said.

“I’m assuming that the AGCO is satisfied that this lottery winner has nothing to do with the prior operators,” she said.

The AGCO held a lottery in January to select 25 winners to apply for the first 25 cannabis retail licences. Seven of those licences are allocated for the west region, an area stretching from Windsor to Waterloo to Niagara.