Essex County Father, Son Deli Owners Sold ‘Synthetic Marijuana’: Cops

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Police arrested an Essex County father and son at their deli in Newark on Wednesday, finding almost 5,300 grams of K2, a brand of “synthetic marijuana,” stashed throughout the business, authorities say.

According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, police from their agency – along with Bloomfield and Irvington officers – executed a search warrant at Mike’s Deli and Grocery, located at 360 Bloomfield Avenue in Newark’s North Ward.

The officers detained the store’s owners, Maher Aldabbas, 55, of Clifton, and his son, Mouhammed Aldabbas, 27, of Newark, as well as a 47-year-old employee from Belleville who was working at the time.

After conducting a search, police seized almost 5,300 grams of K2, a brand of “synthetic marijuana,” as well as “drug packaging materials” and $376 in cash. Authorities estimated the street value of the seized contraband at more than $50,000.

Authorities charged Maher and Mouhammed Aldabbas with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and conspiracy to violate New Jersey’s narcotics laws.

Their employee had an open drug warrant issued by the Newark municipal court and awaits a court appearance on that prior charge, police said.

While products such as K2 are often marketed as an alternative to cannabis, the active chemicals commonly found in its commercial varieties are completely different from Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of true marijuana.

• See related article: FDA Calls Marijuana Ingredient ‘Beneficial,’ Wants To Know More
• See related article: US Marijuana Legalization Bill Would End 'War On Weed'

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said that in the past five months, more than 50 overdose cases of synthetic cannabinoids, requiring hospitalization of the victims, have been reported in Newark.

“Many of the victims appear to come from our local homeless population,” Fontoura said. “These manufactured drugs affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana and their effects are unpredictable and, in some cases, severe or even life-threatening.”

• See related article: Wave Of Illness In Newark May Be Due To 'Synthetic Marijuana'

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