Police arrest 4 suspects, seize K2 stash in raid
NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Police responded to two suspected drug overdoses in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn Thursday night. The NYPD suspects the culprit is K2, also known as synthetic marijuana. One block away, the drug sickened dozens of people less than two weeks ago. Since then, overdoses have spiked.
Earlier Thursday, police raided an apartment at 1769 Park Place in Brownsville where they found more than a thousand packets of K2, some other drugs, and ammunition. Cops arrested four people, including one person who was arrested eight days ago for a similar offense.
Residents in Brownsville told Fox 5 they are not surprised to hear that K2 was being distributed from the neighborhood because they say the synthetic drug seems to have become more widespread.
K2 is a name for a synthetic compound that mimics the effect of THC, the most psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The drug can be many times as potent as the THC in marijuana.
Officials say that part of the problem is that people don't know what is really in the packets, which are often laced with other chemicals, such as an ingredient in rat poison. Earlier this year, health officials in New York issued a warning about the incredibly toxic batch of the drug.
In all, police have made 74 arrests related to possession and sale of K2 in the last two weeks. How the dealers get it and where it comes from are part of the ongoing investigation.
The NYPD calls parts of northern Brooklyn the ground zero of the K2 epidemic. Residents there call it the "zombie zone" because of what the drug does to people who consume it.
With Fox5NY.com staff