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Cops: Former doughnut shop used as cover for K2 operation

DUNNELLON, Fla. — A synthetic drug operation was discovered inside a former Marion County doughnut shop, deputies said Tuesday.

Authorities said they arrested Ahmad Warayat, 27, Fares Rabah, 41, and Ahmed Mohsin, 36.

Deputies said the Sunrise Donuts & Coffee shop in Dunnellon on SW Highway 484 was used as a cover for a K2 manufacturing setup.

Officials said they found hundreds of containers full of synthetic marijuana and the supplies used to make it.

"We got an anonymous tip. The tipster told us that there were some guys doing some suspicious stuff at this closed business just off of SR-200. Once the Lt. did arrive, he saw a guy loading boxes into the truck," said Judge Cochran of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

The suspects rented a U-Haul, and authorities said the load was headed for Tampa.

Authorities said they confiscated about $350,000 worth of the synthetic drug.

"He actually saw a guy loading, packaging onto one of these 26-foot moving trucks. He could tell that the packaging was for the synthetic drug K2," said Cochran.

Deputies said that inside of the building were several bales of synthetic marijuana, as well as scales, empty packages, cases of acetone, more than 11,600 prepared packages of K2 and several cement mixers used to mix the product.

Also, there were several containers containing the finished product waiting to be packaged, as well as, unfinished products awaiting mixture.

"These guys weren’t making doughnuts. No, they were not making doughnuts," Cochran.

The three men were charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance - synthetic marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug
paraphernalia, authorities said.