A Colorado Springs convenience store, its owner and her husband are being sued by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for selling illegal “spice” after an initial police investigation resulted in the removal of 1,505 packages of spice products from the store, according to court documents.

The lawsuit alleges that Jin Ju Kim, 56, the owner of PoPo Wee Mart at 1875 S. Academy Blvd., and her husband, Wanhee Lee, 56, sold the products in packages falsely labeled as “herbal incense,” “botanical sachet” and “potpourri,” knowing that they were being purchased for human consumption.

“Spice products are extremely dangerous as well as illegal and we will continue to prosecute retailers selling it,” Attorney General John Suthers said in the statement.

According to the lawsuit, PoPo Wee Mart was raided in December by Colorado Springs police after three separate undercover purchases of spice products by detectives. An additional 156 unlabeled clear plastic bags containing suspected illegal spice also were removed during the raid, according to the Attorney General’s statement.

A detective explained to the owner that the search was being done because the products being sold were illegal, according to the documents.

“Despite this explanation, despite the substantial presence of law enforcement in the store on Dec. 18, 2013, and despite the removal of all spice products, PoPo Wee Mart continued to sell spice products,” the lawsuit stated.

After conducting another undercover buy in January, police obtained a second search warrant, which was executed on Feb. 18 and during which more suspected spice was found in the store and underneath a spare tire in a vehicle’s trunk, according to the lawsuit.

The Attorney General’s Office is seeking $2,000 per violation.

According to the lawsuit, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment identified 221 emergency room visits associated with synthetic cannabinoids between Aug. 21 and Sept. 19. Three deaths from that period remained under investigation as potentially linked to synthetic marijuana, the lawsuit stated.

Spice use can cause agitation, paranoia, vomiting, elevated blood pressure, seizures and hallucinations, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

The lawsuit was filed in the El Paso County District Court on Monday and the Attorney General’s Office is also seeking the release of all profits obtained from the sales of spice products by PoPo Wee Mart.

This is the fourth such suit against a retailer for selling spice products; stores in Aurora, Longmont and Denver also allegedly sold spice products.

Confiscated synthetic drugs are on display at a news conference at the DEA offices in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, where it was announced that a federal grand jury in Denver has returned indictments charging nine individuals from across the country with conspiracy and drug distribution charges related to “Spice”. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Ed Andrieski