Pittston Couple Charged With Selling Synthetic Pot

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WEST PITTSTON, PA — The owners of an Exeter smoke shop were arraigned Wednesday on charges they sold synthetic marijuana, racking up as much as $5,000 in sales a day, according to arrest papers.

The state Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation allege Sharleen Palaima, 62, and her husband, Alfonse Richard Palaima, 64, of Division Street, Pittston, sold synthetic marijuana from their business, Magikal Garden, on Wyoming Avenue from March 2012 through the end of July 2012.

Magikal Garden was one of many retail smoke stores and gasoline service stations across the state raided on July 26, 2012, in Operation Artificial High, an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, state police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The searches resulted in the seizure of more than 300,000 doses of synthetic marijuana and illegal bath salts, with an estimated street value of $1.25 million, and more than 50,000 pieces of drug paraphernalia related to the smoking or consumption of synthetic drugs, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/824132/Pittston-couple-charged-with-selling-synthetic-pot