Synthetic marijuana labs run by crime ring busted
The Orlando Sentinel
Orlando, Florida
Kevin P. Connolly, Staff Writer
3:53 p.m. EDT
A crime ring that supplied synthetic marijuana across Florida was dismantled today after drug-manufacturing laboratories, homes and storage units were searched in a 7-month-long multi-agency bust in Flagler and St. Johns counties.
More than 80 law-enforcement officers from several agencies participated in the investigation, dubbed Operation Bad Dreamer, that originally started as a probe into the unlicensed sale of tobacco products.
The investigation expanded after authorities learned the crime organization was tied to manufacturing and distribution of synthetic marijuana, sometimes sold as Spice and under other brand names, according to Commander Bob Weber with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
"Investigators said the same group was involved in the sale of drug paraphernalia, used in the ingesting of these products, in Florida, as far south as Miami," Weber said in a statement.
Use of synthetic marijuana and other products called bath salts are on the rise, as are behavioral problems linked to abuse of the products, said Sheriff David Shoar with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
"There is an obvious increase in the use of these types of drugs,” Shoar said in a statement. "As law enforcement continues to address this type of criminal activity, there has been an identifiable increase in the types of abnormal behavior and violence associated with the use of synthetic drugs to include bath salts."
Eleven people have been taken into custody.
Five face these charges: violation of state racketeering laws, sale of controlled substances, delivery of drug paraphernalia, leasing and maintaining property used in the manufacturing of controlled substances as well as tobacco-tax evasion.
Their names were not immediately available.
"The synthetic compounds are marketed to our youth and young adults," Flagler County Sheriff James L. Manfre said. "They become the target of drug dealers who intentionally market these compounds through slick and gimmicky packaging. Those young people who unwittingly experiment with these types of products often find themselves ending up in hospital emergency rooms across the country."
"Your as mighty as the flower that grows the stones away"