3 arrested after synthetic pot linked to severe bleeding, 2 deaths

Three people face federal drug charges for selling synthetic marijuana tainted with a chemical used in rat poison that has killed two and sickened over 50 others.

Fouad Masoud, Jamil Abdelrahman Jad Allah and Adil Khan Mohammed have been charged with selling the illegal drug after someone reportedly told police they suffered severe bleeding after using the substance, which they purchased at the store at 1303 South Kedzie Ave. in Chicago where the three worked, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday.

On March 26, the tip led the police to send an undercover officer to the store, where he asked Mohammed if he had any synthetic marijuana to sell, the complaint said.

"I don't have the good stuff right now, all I got is garbage," Mohammed reportedly told the undercover CPD officer.

Mohammed then sold the officer two sealed plastic packages labeled "Blue Giant" and "Crazy Monkey" for $20 and sold the officer another three packages for $25 the next day, according to the complaint.

After entering the store to conduct a license check, Chicago police found a total of 112 packages of synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic marijuana, according to the complaint. Lab tests concluded the drugs contained a chemical called "FUB-AMB," an illegal synthetic cannabinoid, as well as small amounts of the chemical brodifacoum, commonly used as rat poison, according to the complaint.

Police found an additional 2,900 grams of the drug in Masoud's house, along with more than $280,000 in cash, the complaint said.

The three defendants were arrested Sunday and charged with conspiracy to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, a controlled substance, the complaint said.

Two people have died and 56 have experienced unusual severe bleeding across Illinois after using synthetic marijuana, state health officials said. At least nine of the cases tested positive for brodifacoum.

The deaths and illnesses were caused by severe bleeding from multiple body sites including the nose, mouth, eyes, ears and other sites, officials said. The symptoms are due to a condition called vitamin K-dependent coagulopathy, which decreases the blood's ability to clot, according to state health officials.

According to the complaint, Mohammed told police the store had sold an average of 50-60 packages of the drug per day for approximately $10-20 per package.

When he was arrested, Mohammad reportedly told authorities people had started to complain about the quality of the drugs over the last three weeks - around the time the first cases of severe bleeding were first linked to synthetic marijuana use.

The chemical that caused the symptoms kills rodents by triggering severe bleeding. It is similar to the blood thinner warfarin, but is much more powerful, officials said. In a memo to emergency rooms and health care facilities across the state, Illinois health officials called the chemical a "superwarfarin," warning it can stay in the body for a long time and thus requires long-term vitamin-K treatment.

Officials also warned pharmacies in Illinois to be sure they have enough vitamin-K in stock to meet the needs of patients who may need large doses over the course of several weeks to months.

Synthetic marijuana is sometimes referred to as "fake weed," "K2" and "spice." Chemicals are often sprayed on plant materials to be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized in e-cigarettes, officials said. It is often a mixture of hundreds of chemicals that affect the same brain receptors as the main ingredient in marijuana, but its effects are often much more powerful, dangerous or even life-threatening, according to officials.

State health officials said they're still searching for other sources of the tainted drugs, which are legal and are often sold at convenience stores, gas stations, drug paraphernalia shops and online. Officials warned anyone who may have recently purchased synthetic marijuana not to use the drug and to call 911 if they exhibit unexplained bleeding or bruising.