Seven Orange Countians are among those caught up in a federal government crackdown on synthetic drugs known as “spice” and “bath salts,” officials recently revealed.
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Accused Bath Salts Drug Dealer From Newport Coast Keeps Striking Out
The locals were among two of three organizations charged in Los Angeles federal court with allegedly making and distributing thousands of kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids, which are designed to mimic the effects of THC and are sold under brand names such as “Sexy Monkey,” “Crazy Monkey,” “Scooby Snax,” “Bizarro” and “Mad Hatter,” according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
“These are extremely dangerous drugs, despite being falsely marketed to youth as being a 'safe' alternative and having innocent names like spice and K2,” said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles. “The often unknown and constantly changing chemicals in these drugs can have unpredictable and devastating effects on users.”
Ahmad Abu Farie, 54, his 25-year-old son Mohammad Abu Farie, both of Huntington Beach, and a second son, Ehab Abu Farie, 24, of Chandler, Arizona, were among seven people charged with being part of a company in downtown LA's Skid Row district that sold the compounds that are smoked or swallowed.
A separate Orange County business involved in the same, according to the feds, included Adnan Bahhur, 55, and his sons Islam Bahhur, 29, and Hakeem Bahhur, 24, all of Anaheim, Adnan Bahhur's 44-year-old daughter Maesa Bahhur of Greenville, South Carolina, Anaheim's Oun Alrzouq, 49, and Mohamad Hamade, 31, of Irvine.
A third case focuses on two former Monterey Park residents who allegedly had ties to the other two organizations. Most defendants are charged with conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute controlled substance analogues, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
Could be the makings of the longest family reunions EVER!
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.