COCOA, Fla. – The owner of a Chevron Food Mart and his partner were arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling illegal drugs out of the store.
According to the Cocoa Police Department, Salim Adili (above, left), 48, and Ghassan Hijleh (above, right), 47, were arrested after the execution of a search warrant at the store on North Cocoa Boulevard found a significant amount of packaged synthetic marijuana for sale, along with other paraphernalia associated with the usage of a drug commonly referred to as Spice or K2.
"It was word of mouth," Officer Yvonne Martinez said. "(Customers) would go in, whatever the code was to get the synthetic marijuana, they would ask the owner or whoever the clerk at the register was. The individuals that were arrested are saying that they didn't know it was illegal, but now they're facing felony charges."
Police said they believe Adili and Hijleh have been selling the drugs from the store for several months.
"The synthetic marijuana (doesn't) have the THC component in it," Martinez said. "It's more dangerous because you don't know the chemical compounds being used.
Adili and Hijleh are charged with felony possession and sale of synthetic marijuana. The owner is also facing a misdemeanor alcohol-related charge.