Whitfield busts store selling narcotic for e-cigs


              FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014 file photo, a man exhales vapor from an e-cigarette in New York. Using certain electronic cigarettes at high temperature settings could release much more formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical, than smoking traditional cigarettes does, lab tests suggest. The research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 is not proof of a risk - it involved limited testing on just one brand of e-cigarettes. But scientists say it shows how little is known about the safety of these popular devices. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014 file photo, a man exhales vapor from an e-cigarette in New York. Using certain electronic cigarettes at high temperature settings could release much more formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical, than smoking traditional cigarettes does, lab tests suggest. The research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 is not proof of a risk - it involved limited testing on just one brand of e-cigarettes. But scientists say it shows how little is known about the safety of these popular devices. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A grocery on Reed Pond road in Whitfield County has been busted and a man arrested on charges of selling Schedule 1 narcotics for use in e-cigarettes.

In a news release, the sheriff's office said it received information in October and conducted an investigation, including undercover purchases. They submitted samples to the GBI Crime Lab for analysis. The crime lab recently informed the Sheriff's Office that the substance had been identified as a synthetic Schedule 1 illegal narcotic.
Investigators also learned that the money the suspect was making from selling the substance was being deposited into two different bank accounts.

On Wednesday, members of the sheriff's office and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed search warrants at S&L Grocerty, 902 Reed Pond Road and a home at 2351 Clifton Circle, as well as two bank accounts. Investigators seized several bottles of the e-cig synthetic liquid, three firearms, three vehicles, and approximately $50,000 cash.

Leonel Lopez-Martinez, 34, was arrested and charged with sale of Schedule 1 narcotics.

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