DEA Arrests Several Statewide in Synthetic Drug Crackdown

(NEW YORK) -- Less than a month after President Obama banned the sale, production, and possession of synthetic drugs known as bath salts, the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Thursday that it has made 90 arrests in a nationwide “synthetic drug takedown.”

Law enforcement agents also seized $36 million in cash and 19 million packets of synthetic drugs, including bath salts (a powder hallucinogen) and spice (also known as fake marijuana), the agency said. The DEA collaborated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and several other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in a project called Operation Log Jam.

“This enforcement action has disrupted the entire illegal industry, from manufacturers to retailers,” said DEA administrator Michele Leonhart.

In California, there were arrests in Los Angeles, City of Industry, Corona, Escondido, Laguna Niguel, Palm Beach County, Rowland Heights and San Juan Capestrano.

The largest number of arrests were in Albuquerque, but the most significant synthetic drug activity was in Tampa, DEA spokeswoman Barbara Cerrano told ABC News.

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