Synthetic drugs seized from Jerseyville wholesaler

JERSEYVILLE Illinois authorities' efforts to stem the flow of illegal synthetic drugs continued on Friday with the seizure of 2,700 packets worth an estimated $110,000 from a wholesale company and one of its employees.

It was the latest of several rounds of seizures around the state coordinated by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in a program called "Operation Smoked Out." Friday's seizures amounted to a major step forward, she said.

The seizures in Jerseyville were the firstfroma distributor.Previousseizures were from retail stores.

"Cutting off the supply of these extremely dangerous substances at the source is a huge victory," Madigan said in a news release.

Acting on an informant's tip, investigators from Madigan's office, Jerseyville police, the Jersey County Sheriff's Department and the South Central Illinois Drug Task Force seized drugs at William F. Brockman Wholesale Tobacco & Candy and at the home of a Brockman employee. Authorities said the company is a supplier to retailers across a large area of central and Southern Illinois.

Madigan said the same investigation had resulted in earlier seizures of 177 packages of synthetic drugs from two retailers in Litchfield.

No one was arrested in Friday's sweep or previous ones but Madigan spokeswoman Natalie Bauer said that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be criminal charges in the future.

Madigan's office hosted an "emergency summit" on synthetic drugs in November and has sincecoordinated earlierdrug sweeps in several Illinois communities, including Centralia, Pinckneyville and Pocahontas.

BauersaidOperation Smoked Outand the investigations associated with it are ongoing. Shesaid investigatorscontinue to learn how the drugs are distributed andare "moving up the supply chain."

Statewide, the initiative has resulted in seizure of 13,101 packets of drugs with an estimated value of more than $336,000.

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Synthetic drugs seized from Jerseyville wholesaler