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Ottawa police officers quietly forced the closure of a downtown marijuana dispensary on Tuesday afternoon.

Ottawa police drew a security screen across the front window to obscure passerby from seeing inside. However, at least two officers were visible through the screen, gathering items and packing them into boxes.

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Police confirmed the address for the shop, 224 Bank St., was the scene of a “police operation” but would not elaborate.

Customers were taken aback by the closure, with many expressing their frustration. None of the patrons would give their identities.

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

The Bank Street location for Weeds opened last spring. The store’s owner operates a second shop on Montreal Road, which opened in February 2016 before it was forced to close later that year in October, after Canada Post seized its shipments in the mail. That location has been struggling to remain open due to various ongoing investigations.

Earlier this month, Ottawa police charged two people in connection with a raid on the TopSpot marijuana dispensary on Bank Street. A man and woman face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, and possession of a prohibited weapon. No names were released.

Weeds is the 11th marijuana dispensary to be raided by police since early November. At least six of the raided shops have reopened.

Police have repeatedly underlined that any business not licensed to sell marijuana by Health Canada is operating illegally.