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| RMPD targets town business |
Photo by Charles Boothe:
Rocky Mount Police Chief David Cundiff places police tape across the front of a business in Rocky Mount Thursday afternoon as officers execute a search warrant related to a drug investigation. |
Friday, September 21, 2012
By CHARLES BOOTHE - Staff Writer
The Rocky Mount Police Department executed a search warrant at a town business Thursday afternoon related to a drug investigation.
Police Chief David Cundiff said a search warrant was filed in the commonwealth's attorney office Thursday morning to enter Misty Mountain Wares on Tanyard Road.
Cundiff said the business, located in Eagle Plaza, is within 1,000 feet of Franklin County High School and the RMPD has been "conducting an intense investigation of this business."
The search was related to the sell and distribution of synthetic drugs, he said, often packaged as other products.
The Virginia General Assembly made changes to the laws regarding synthetic drugs that make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute cases, Cundiff said. Those changes became effective July 1.
However, any confiscated materials have to be sent to the state forensic lab for analysis, and that process now takes between six to eight weeks because of the demand from jurisdictions around the state, Cundiff added. The forensic lab has been "flooded" with samples.
Cundiff offered few details about the investigation, saying it was prompted by complaints from the general public and undercover officers had been used.
No charges have been filed, he said, awaiting results of the analysis.
Other businesses in town are also "targets" of the investigation, Cundiff added. |
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