Nationwide Raids on Synthetic Drug Labs Lead to 90 Arrests, Seizure of $36 Million
In the first-ever nationwide crackdown on the synthetic drug industry, law enforcement officers arrested more than 90 people, seized $36 million in cash and more than 4.8 million packets of synthetic cannabinoids Wednesday, authorities said.
Agents also confiscated material to make 13.6 million more packages and 167,000 packages of synthetic hallucinogens, more commonly known as bath salts. In addition, materials to make 392,000 more packets of bath salts were seized.
Operation Log Jam, a joint effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and federal and local agencies, was conducted in more than 90 cities spanning 30 states, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said at a news conference Thursday.
She said the raids included 29 manufacturing facilities and at every level of the industry, from small-scale operations to large warehouses.
“The web of connections between the suppliers and the distributors and the retailers is enormous and it’s complex,” she said.
Fifty-three weapons and $6 million in assets were also seized during the operation.