Hattiesburg ‘Candy Shop’ locations searched by FBI, DEA
PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Local, state and federal law enforcement executed three search warrants on Thursday, Jan. 26, at Candy Shop & Kratom locations around Hattiesburg.
According to the Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD), agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HPD, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Forrest and Lamar county sheriff’s departments, FBI and Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are involved in the investigation.
The search warrants were issued in connection to investigations of synthetic cannabinoids (oils and edibles) that have additional substances added to them. These substances allegedly led to “serious health issues for consumers,” per the HPD report
“The complaint was they were selling products that just were having really bad effects on people when they were taking it,” said Chris Bell with the DEA. “It was being sold as CBD, but it was actually a synthetic that was manmade and some of the stuff was being mixed there in the stores.”
The locations listed in the search warrants include the following:
- Candy Shop & Kratom at 3814 West 4th Street
- Candy Shop & Kratom at 6068 U.S. 98
- Candy Shop & Kratom at 5910 Highway 49
In addition to the Hattiesburg locations, DEA agents also served three additional warrants at shops on the Mississippi Coast and two others in North Carolina.
WDAM 7′s sister station, WLOX News Now, also reported that authorities searched The Candy Shop & Kratom locations in Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs as well as the home and businesses of Biloxi Councilman Robert Deming.
Bell wants buyers to be aware that this could happen to many different products without knowledge to the consumer.
“Just because it’s being sold out of a shop that looks legitimate, doesn’t always mean that the product that you’re buying and ingesting isn’t legitimately made product,” said Bell.
The DEA says no arrests or charges have been issued at this time, but some could arise from the investigation.
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