A Dalton police investigation, which included the Department of Homeland Security, busted a business owner and two accomplices for selling synthetic marijuana Wednesday.
It was the second arrest for the charge this year for Dhansukh Chhaganlal Bhika, 63, owner of a Dalton tobacco store. His Discount Tobacco Food Mart was also raided in February, which netted more than 1,300 packages of synthetic marijuana and more than $80,000 in cash.
The new arrest for the Cartersville man followed a compliance check of the store by the Georgia Department of Revenue during which agents discovered packages of synthetic marijuana. A search by Dalton Police found more than 100 packages of synthetic marijuana. They also found 30 containers of a liquid form of synthetic marijuana consumed using vapor pens or “E-Cigarettes.”
Besides Bhika, informants also bought the banned drug from Allen Martin Payne, 36, and Tiffany Ryane Fowler, 32 of Resaca, at the store and at other locations.
Officers found a 9-millimeter handgun, drug paraphernalia and a small quantity of marijuana when they searched Payne’s Dalton house. Besides the drug-related charges, he also faces a gun charge as a convicted felon.
Bartow County-Cartersville Drug Task Force and the Calhoun Police Department also participated in the investigation.
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