Nationwide Bath Salts Crackdown Nets $14 Million Worth Of Drugs

Seven search warrants were served in central Ohio on Wednesday as part of a nationwide bath salts crackdown.

The crackdown, called Operation Log Jam, netted millions of dollars worth of the illegal drug, which causes users to hallucinate.

Investigators said that bath salts are becoming a nationwide epidemic.

“This shows you the problem we’ve been having, and that’s what’s affecting our community, how large the problem actually is,” Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott said.

Operation Log Jam was more than a year and a half in the making.

Thomas C. Smith was one of two people arrested in central Ohio during Wednesday’s raids. Smith owns three head shops along North High Street.

Scott said that Smith was warned three months ago to stop selling bath salts.

On Wednesday, Smith was charged with permitting drug abuse. He was one of nearly 100 people arrested as part of the nationwide crackdown.

“He didn’t get the message the first time, so we sent him another message,” Scott said.

Operation Log Jam, a Drug Enforcement Administration initiative that spanned 30 states, was aimed at breaking down the web of illegal drug connections between suppliers, distributors and retailers.

The operation, the latest of its kind in DEA history, netted more than $14 million worth of bath salts and cash. Nearly $500,000 was seized just in central Ohio.

“There was plenty of cash there readily available,” Scott said. “I’ve heard of businesses having $250,000 in cash at places that sell these bath salts.”

Scott said that there was still work to be in done in central Ohio to get bath salts off the streets.

“All I can say is hold on, we’ll see you soon enough,” Scott said.

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