Tampa Police Raid Spice Lab

TAMPA, FL — A Tuesday raid on a Tampa storage facility resulted in an estimated $500,000 in illegal spice being taken off the streets.

According to the Tampa Police Department, the facility also contained the equipment and materials necessary to produce tens of thousands more packages of the “extremely dangerous, highly addictive drug.”

Spice, also known as synthetic marijuana, contains a mix of herbs and chemicals meant to mimic the effects of other drugs. Often packaged to be attractive to children, many of the ingredients used in spice production are illegal in Florida. The drug has been connected to a number of deaths and serious injuries in the Tampa Bay area. It is also connected with strange and bizarre behavior in some users.

"Getting this amount of spice off the streets is a huge win for us,'' said Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward in a statement. "On both sides of Tampa Bay we have seen far too many cases of dangerous or deadly consequences related to Spice. The best way to have an impact is to stop Spice at the source, and that's what we've done."

During Tuesday’s raid, officers found more than 20,000 packages of spice that were ready for sale, an email from the agency said. Inside the storage facility, they also found about 300 pounds of the green, leafy substance used to create spice, along with the chemicals and flavoring agents. Detectives also confiscated the equipment used in the manufacture of spice.

“It was clear from evidence at the scene that the packages of spice were intended for sale in the area,” the email said. “In the last two months, the Tampa Police (Department) has responded to more than 300 incidents believed to be related to spice. Tampa Fire Rescue has seen a similar spike in spice-related calls in the past two months.”

The investigation that led to Tuesday’s spice lab raid was worked in conjunction with the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency. Since no arrest has been made in the case yet, the location of the storage facility is not being disclosed.

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Police Department

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