DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – An eight-month undercover investigation into the illegal sale and manufacturing of synthetic drugs culminated Friday with the arrests of 15 people.
DEA agents raided the Kwik Stop Food Store on Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach.
Among those arrested were three brothers accused of operating a synthetic drug distribution center based at the convenience store. They were identified as Durgham Suleiman, Othman Suleiman and Wakas Suleiman.
Agents said the suspects were producing about 10,000 packages weekly, buying raw chemicals in China and then bringing them back to the United States.
"When you've got a chemical and you're cutting it with some acetone and you're spraying some on potpourri leaves, who's to say that he doesn't spend more time on this batch of leaves than the other one," DEA Special Agent Kevin Stanfill told Local 10 News crime specialist John Turchin. "You know, he could be talking on the phone. He could be doing a thousand different other things, so you don't know if you're getting a little bit or a lot. You don't know how your body's going to react. These are chemicals. This is probably chemicals that you could use to kill rats."
DEA spokeswoman Mia Ro said the synthetic drugs, labeled with superhero names, were designed with packaging that appears to be targeting children.
"They're cheap," Ro said. "They're easy to get at convenience stores like this."
Ro said the packages were concealed to the general public, but they were accessible to regular customers or someone who was referred to the store and requested the drugs using code words like "pineapple Diablo."
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