As anyone who has spent any amount of time in Gothamist HQ knows, "sour power" straws are highly addictive and dangerously delicious (and also the only thing that can get us through weekday afternoons). And it seems that an East Harlem gang took advantage of the overwhelming allure of them by selling skunky weed using "sour power" packages. “If you want the sour, come to 118th and Lexington,” the Fetti Boys rapped on YouTube, according to officials.
Eighteen members of the gang, ranging in age from 18 to 48, were arrested this week and charged with criminal sale of marijuana, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy. Police say the group worked out of the Nassin Deli on Lexington Avenue near East 118th Street, selling $200 to $1,000 worth of the candy pot packages daily. They also allegedly sold crack and guns out of the bodega.
"They really were actually a nuisance," said Det. John Hourican of the Manhattan North Narcotics Major Case squad. "They would ask you what you wanted. They would take you down the aisle. Sometimes they had it in a box of cereal and inside a bag of potato chips." Undercover officers made 60 drug buys there since February 2012. Police add it's unclear whether the owners of the bodega were in cahoots with the gang or not.
All of this could have been avoided if only the gang realized that the only high anyone really needs from a package of "sour power" candy straws is the government-subsidized sugar high within.
