Updated at 5:51 p.m. with more information, photo.
Thirteen businesses were raided in St. Clair County Illinois Tuesday in a new crackdown on illegal synthetic drugs.
The raids on convenience stores, liquor stores and smoke shops stem from a law passed last year that broadens the chemical definition of the drugs.
State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly says, before, manufactures could skirt the law by changing the specific formula they used in their products, often marketed as bath salts.
“They tweak them a little bit and they get a little bit ahead of the law," Kelly said. "The law is passed and then they tweak them a little bit more. They change the chemical compounds and they get ahead of the law just a little bit more. So it’s been a game of catch up for law enforcement and for the law to be able to prosecute these synthetic drugs.
During the raids, law enforcement officials also confiscated cash and weapons. Kelley says so far no arrests have been made but expects charges to be filed soon.
