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The Texaco station on Sixth Avenue S.W. and Goldwire Street in Birmingham is one of hundreds of locations raided Wednesday, May 7, 2014 in a DEA operation against designer synthetic drugs.

(Carol Robinson/crobinson@al.com)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Massive raids are underway today throughout Jefferson County, Alabama and the U.S.

The raids, part of an ongoing operation dubbed Project Synergy, are being carried out by DEA, targeting designer synthetic drugs. "These are clearly made for human consumption and it's poison," said Rusty Payne, a DEA spokesman in Washington D.C. The Alabama portion of the raids are being called Operation Red Tide.

Local law enforcement officials, assisted by DEA agents, are going to convenience stores and head shops across the country where the drugs are sold. They include eight classes of drugs, ranging from stimulants to hallucinogens. In the past five years, DEA has identified between 200 and 300 new designer drugs.

At least six locations in Jefferson County – and as many as a dozen – are to be hit today, authorities said. As many as 200 are expected to be visited across the country.

The areas raided in Jefferson County Wednesday morning are: 12 Polly Reed Road in Center Point, 201 6th Street S.W. Birmingham, 1336 15th Street S.W. Birmingham, 423 Mulga Loop Road, Mulga, 320 6th Ave S.W. Birmingham, and 5232 Falling Creek Lane in Trussville.

Other raids in Alabama included several carried out in

.

Project Synergy is a joint operation between the DEA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the IRS and local law enforcement agencies. The first phase of the operation began in December 2012 and led to more than 227 arrests and 416 search warrants in 35 states.

Payne said the drugs come from China, and have caused significant abuse, addiction, overdoses and emergency room visits. Authorities are targeting the importers, who are often the convenience store owners.

The smokable herbal blends are marketed as "legal" and provide a marijuana-like high. Synthetic cannabinoids include Spice, K2, Blaze and Red X Dawn, and synthetic cathinones (stimulants and hallucinogens) include bath salts or plant food, Payne said. Synthetic drugs that mimic cocaine, LSD or methamphetamine inlcude Ivory Wave, Purple Wave, Vanilla Sky or Bliss.

Users of those have reported impaired perception, reduced motor control, extreme paranoia and violent episodes. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 2,656 calls in 2012 related to bath salts exposure and there have been deaths as well.

The drugs, made specifically for illicit sale, carry a huge profit margin. Payne said a kilogram of the drugs can be bought and imported from overseas for as little as $1,000 and turned into up to $200,000.

Payne said there is more to the raids than drug interdiction.Authorities believe some of the owners of these stores send profits from the sale of these drugs back to their homes in Yemen, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well as other countries.

"We believe it's a matter of national security," he said.

Updated at 9:39 a.m. with more information from the DEA.

Updated at 11:43 a.m. with all locations raided in Jefferson County.