by Shay Sokol

Updated at 6:18pm.

St. Tammany Parish has been the center of the statewide crackdown on mojos, but they're not the only place in the metro area where the substances are being used. Jefferson Parish had its turn to threaten the rogue chemists and retailers of mojos, bath salts and other synthetic drugs Thursday afternoon. Sheriff Newell Normand summoned the press out to his Department's LASER lair to put the illegal substances they've confiscated on display, and send a message to all who distribute the substances: "We will come after you and shut you down."

On display behind Normand were multiple varieties of mojos (including “Bob Narley”), jugs of acetone, bottles of Everclear, a small cement mixer, crusty measuring cups, gas masks and three truckloads of potpourri, some in Home Depot and USPS boxes.

Normand said there's been an increase in the use of the illegal synthetic drugs in Jefferson Parish in the last 12-18 months, causing a strain on local law enforcement. He said Jefferson Parish authorities are on the trail of the fake drugs, but remain in a "cat and mouse game" with the makers and distributors of these substances.

"We got our hands around this group of knuckleheads, but I guarantee there's another group of knuckleheads right behind them," he said standing in a hanger of trucks, a helicopter and the loot.

In 38 states, including Louisiana, it is illegal to sell, possess, or consume synthetic drugs that contain certain compounds as found in mojos and bath salts. “Once a particular chemical is declared illegal, the rouge chemist adjusts the chemical composition of their products by adding or subtracting a molecule in the formula in an effort to circumvent the law,” a JPSO press release states.

In 2010, there were 3,210 calls nationally to U.S. Poison Control Centers about bad side effects from the stuff. In 2011, there were 13,000 such complaints - ranging from nausea to death.

The Parish's crackdown on the drugs – which are often labeled as retail products like potpourri, and are smoked and snorted – began earlier this year. At the end of March, JPSO Narcotic agents executed 18 search warrants and shut down five clandestine labs where the drugs had been made. This month, Normand's forces bagged seven people either manufacturing or distributing the drugs.

The next phase of the operation is convenience stores and other retail outfits, where the fake drugs are "distributed in a very overt way," Normand said.

"You wanna play the game?" he asked. "We’ll come after you, and make sure you never even sell bread again in Jefferson Parish."

Normand pointed out three truckloads of potpourri, all of which came from the same bust at a residence in Marrero (2932 Mt. Kennedy Drive), where Harold Bourgeouis Jr., Claudia Smith, and Christina Facchinetti were arrested. There agents seized 1000 pounds of unprocessed marshmallow leaves, 7 boxes of empty Jamaican Breeze bags, 16 boxes of empty AK-47 bags, 44 boxes of empty Modro bags, 7 boxes of empty White Lightning bags, 6 boxes of empty Scarface bags, 18 boxes of empty no-name bags, 35 boxes of empty canisters, 23 boxes of empty Bomb Marley bags, 102 boxes of empty Mojo Diamond Extra bags, 5 boxes of empty NO Extra bags, 17 boxes of empty Lotus bags, 7 boxes of empty RCUK bags, 5 empty gallon acetone cans, 2 boxes of Kratom capsules, 1000 empty black plastic bags, 1000 empty orange plastic bags, 1000 empty clear plastic bags, 2 boxes of Fuego labels, 18 bottles of Everclear, 23 bottles of assorted flavoring, 1 Husky concrete mixter, 3 home-made drying bins, 2 bags of Herbal Smoke Blend Tobacco and 6 five-gallon cans of acetone.

At the end of the press conference, Normand held up a gas mask to point out that even the “rogue chemists” making the stuff don’t think it’s safe.