LAWRENCE: Police raid shop, seize $300,000 in evidence

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The owner of the Wonderland Smoke Shop and a clerk who worked in the store on Brunswick Pike have been charged with an assortment of drug offenses after the store was raided by the Trenton Police Department, the Lawrence Township Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration on Feb. 16.
   Gene Goldsman, 42, of Millstone Township, and store clerk Christopher Mario, 26, of Pennington, were charged with possession of synthetic cannabinoids, possession with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public library and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to promote drug use, according to Officer Peter Szpakowski of the Trenton Police Department.
   An undercover police officer visited the store Feb. 16 and purchased some synthetic cannabinoids, an illegal herb-based product that replicates the psychoactive effects of marijuana, Officer Szpakowski said.
   Police seized more than 7,200 packets of synthetic cannabinoids, valued at about $150,000, Officer Szpakowski said.
   Varieties of the illegal substance are still being sold in gram-sized and half-gram-sized packets in tobacco shops, convenience stores and gas stations as potpourri, Office Szpakowski said. The packages carry names such as “Hayze,” “Mary Jane” and “Jeffrey,” he said.
   Police intercepted a shipment of two, 25-pound boxes of cannabinoids on Feb. 15, the day before the raid, Officer Szpakowski said.
   During the Feb. 16 raid, police said they seized $719 in cash and $150,000 worth of drug paraphernalia, ranging from pipes to bongs.
   The raid was the result of an investigation into reports that high school students across Mercer County were getting “high” on the synthetic marijuana, Officer Szpakowski said.