SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – A man who possessed pounds of synthetic cannabinoids is going to prison.
Noman Hizam, 37, had over 38 pounds of the drug - packaged in over 1,700 packets - in his car when they stopped his Chevrolet Suburban in Sept. 2014 along Interstate 72.
Police served search warrants at businesses in Decatur that Hizam owns on May 10, 2016, including Handy Pantry (3715 N. Woodford St.), Cigar Outlet (1247 E. Mound Road), and Tobacco Express (1101 N. Route 48). They stopped a car he was in on that date and found what prosecutors described as “stacks” of money, along with keys to a storage unit. A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice says a search of that storage unit revealed another 300 packets of cannabinoids.
Hizam pleaded guilty to charges of drug possession with intent to distribute on March 2, 2018.
Hizam’s Monday sentence includes five years in prison, along with three years of supervised release.
Synthetic cannabinoids are often referred to as “K2” or “spice”. The man-made drugs are known to cause severe bleeding, kidney failure, heart attacks and even death in people.
Investigators say K2 is marketed as “herbal incense” or “potpourri” and comes in brightly-colored packets with sayings such as “Scooby Snax”, “Mr. Happy” or “California Dream”.
