Drugs, Knives Seized In Boardwalk Raid

OCEAN CITY -- Two days after an employee of the Maytalk store on the Boardwalk sold the now-illegal synthetic narcotic K-2 to undercover police detectives and taught them how to use it, OCPD officers last Thursday afternoon raided the establishment and found more than they bargained for.

Earlier last week, OCPD Mounted Patrol officers received a tip from a citizen regarding the sale of K-2 at Maytalk, a Boardwalk store at 2nd Street. Three weeks ago, the Ocean City Mayor and Council passed an ordinance banning the synthetic drug, which mimics the effects of marijuana.

Last Tuesday, undercover OCPD narcotics detectives conducted a compliance check at the retail store and were able to purchase K-2 from a store employee. According to police reports, the employee told the undercover officers K-2 was illegal, but agreed to sell it to them anyway. The employee also sold the officers a pipe and explained to them how to use the K-2 to get high. According to police reports, the owner of the store was present during the transaction and drug use seminar.

Around 1 p.m. last Thursday, undercover OCPD detectives wearing black hoods and masks over their faces, along with OCPD bicycle patrol officers, served a search and seizure warrant on the Maytalk store and recovered K-2, bath salts, paraphernalia, several fixed-blade fighting knives and Salvia Divinorum, another narcotic banned by the council last year.

The owner admitted the store had been selling Salvia despite the ordinance banning the substance last year. Some contraband was found hidden in a compartment in a display case next to the cash register, which was likely the mysterious white box undercover detectives removed from the store and hustled into a nearby vehicle.

Since the passing of the ordinance three weeks ago, police have proactively educated store owners and managers by providing copies of the new town law as well as conducting several checks to ensure compliance.