Albany

A city deli owner pleaded guilty Monday to possessing synthetic marijuana he intended to sell, according to the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of New York.

Shukri Abdullah, 44, admitted that he had two garbage bags filled with hundreds of packets of the synthetic drug, also known as Spice or K2, and sold them to customers of Grand Deli in Albany, federal prosecutors said.

In February, he was arraigned on an indictment charging him with possession with the intent to distribute synthetic cannabinoids.

Abdullah also admitted to routinely purchasing large quantities of the substances from a New York City supplier, paying as much as $9,000 in cash for each shipment, prosecutors said.

The deli owner faces up to 20 years in prison, but would likely face less under federal sentencing guidelines.

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