LEHI — The co-owners of a Lehi convenience store are accused of illegally selling drug-related products and synthetic urine to help buyers pass any drug tests they may have.
Raghunandan Singh, 52, of Salt Lake City, and Taranjit Singh, 47, of Lehi, have each been charged in 4th District Court with marijuana possession with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony; illegal distribution of E-cigarettes and illegal distribution of kratom, class C misdemeanors; and possession of synthetic urine, an infraction.
The Singhs are co-owners of B's Convenience Mart at 785 E. 200 South in Lehi. After receiving a tip, agents with the State Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant on the business in January.
"During the search, agents seized 27 packages of THC gummies and a large quantity of synthetic urine kits that were on display for sale. They also seized 550 illegal e-cigarettes (along with menus and lists indicating the intent to sell to vetted customers) and 379 packages of kratom from the store's office," according to charging documents.
A search warrant return notes that 95 synthetic urine kits were seized.
Distributing or possessing synthetic urine became illegal in Utah in 2019. The statute was updated last year, making it a crime to distribute, possess or sell synthetic urine if the purpose of selling the fake pee is to help people defeat a drug or alcohol test. Although it is a low-level crime, according to Utah Department of Public Safety Lt. Juliane Hawkes, state agents are now finding synthetic urine kits for sale at 80% of the places being investigated for other crimes, such as illegal vape or THC sales.
"They are consistently paired," she said.
