A major crew of synthetic-marijuana dealers peddled the toxic drug over the same bodega counters “where they sell milk and candy,” Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said Wednesday.
The 10-man ring imported enough chemicals from China over the last year to produce about 1,300 kilograms of “K2” or “Spice” — which was divided into 260,000 packets and sold for $5 a pop, according to an indictment.
The indicted suspects — mostly of Yemeni background — were identified as Abdullah Deiban, Morad Nasser Kassim, Faris Nasser Kassim, Nageab Saeed, Walide Saeed, Mohamed Saeed, Hamid Moshref, Mohamed Salem, Mohamed Almatheel and Fikri Nagi.
They were arrested after an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Strike Task Force.
“Today we have undertaken the single largest law-enforcement action ever in New York City to combat the Spice epidemic,” Bharara said. “We have charged 10 men with conspiring to dump over a ton of synthetic marijuana into all five boroughs.”
The suspects face up to 20 years in prison.