Seaside Heights Boardwalk Business Busted for Selling Designer drugs

A Seaside Heights boardwalk business was busted last week for selling what state officials are calling 'designer drugs.'

Seaside Heights Police arrested Sohail Padela, 44, at Fine Jewelry, a novelty shop he owns at 216 Boardwalk, Seaside Heights, on Aug. 12, according to the state Department of Consumer Affairs.

The arrest followed a month-long investigation in which a clerk at Padela’s store allegedly sold designer drug packets to undercover investigators. One of the packets, with the brand name “Golden Eye Spice,” tested positive for what is known as synthetic marijuana, or "K2." The chemicals were banned earlier this year under state and federal laws.

Seaside Heights officers seized 150 packets of “Golden Eye Spice” and other suspected designer drugs with labels such as “Black King,” “Cloud 9,” “Ecstasy Salvia,” and “Spike Diamond,” from Padela’s vehicle, with an estimated total value of $3,750, the state DCA said.

Padela, of Houston, Tx., was charged with the third-degree crimes of possession and distribution of a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance, and the second-degree crime of distribution within a recreational zone. He was released on $8,000 bail.

In a separate incident, Stafford Township Police arrested Ritesh Kumar Patel, a clerk at The News Stand on 25 South Main Street, and Atul Garg, a clerk at the Exxon gas station at 555 Route 72, after each allegedly sold illegal designer drugs to undercover investigators during a three-month investigation, the DCA said.

Stafford Township officers seized a total of more than 655 packets of suspected designer drugs, including so-called “bath salts” and synthetic cannabinoids with an estimated total value of more than $16,000, from both stores.