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Latest Harlem Bodega Raid Nets More Illegal Viagra Than Synthetic Marijuana

By Gustavo Solis | October 2, 2015 12:49pm | Updated on October 4, 2015 8:23pm
 Synthetic marijuana is marketed as incense. The packaging says it is not for human consumptions and the product does not contain any prohibited ingredients but you must be over the age of 18 to buy it.
Synthetic marijuana is marketed as incense. The packaging says it is not for human consumptions and the product does not contain any prohibited ingredients but you must be over the age of 18 to buy it.
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DNAinfo/Gustavo Solis

EAST HARLEM — When the NYPD began inspecting bodegas around 125th Street for K2 in July, they confiscated more than 8,000 packets of synthetic marijuana.

During a follow up inspection of five bodegas Thursday, they only found one.

“It’s an indication that hopefully business owners know that we are out here looking for this,” said Deputy Inspector Thomas Harnisch. “This is not a one-time inspection.”

Members of the 25th Precinct, the Department of Health, Consumer Affairs, and the Sheriff’s Department, found the sole packet of synthetic marijuana at 63 E. 125th St.

They confiscated 6,600 from the same location in July, Harnisch said.

In the other bodegas, the city department of Consumer Affairs issued violations for selling cigarettes without a license, as well as selling expired cough medicine, and flavored tobacco.

Police arrested one bodega worker for “criminal diversion of prescription drugs,” and recovered a small bag full of Viagra pills from 2296 First Ave., Harnisch said.

The bodegas were selected from a list of businesses that received commissioner’s orders from the Department of Health to stop selling the synthetic drug that hospitalized more than 120 in the April.

Each inspection is part of the 25th Precinct’s “continuing effort to ensure local businesses are not engaging in practices that are hurting the community,” Harnisch said.

Apart from the inspections, the NYPD announced that they will bring 38 officers to the 125th Street corridor to reduce violence and crime in the area. Last week, a 15-year-old boy was shot while standing in front of his apartment building at 123rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

Additionally, the city council passed three laws to curb the selling of synthetic marijuana. When the law goes into effect, pending the Mayor's signature, stores caught selling K2 could be fined up to $10,000 and possibly be shut down.