Federal agents, Tuesday, raided the offices of The Herbal Group, located in the Barn Shops in Chadds Ford Township. The raid came five days after Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies informed shopkeepers that the center was up for sheriff’s sale.

Agents from the US Postal Service and from Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the June 29 raid. Agents on the scene refused to comment except to say that the warrants were sealed.

Mark Medvesky, the ICE public affairs officer in Philadelphia, also declined to comment on specifics, but did explain that warrants may be sealed if they contain information that would interfere with another investigation if disclosed.

There was no word of any arrests or why the raid was conducted.

Other shopkeepers said they believed the Herbal Group sold herbal supplements through the mail. Herbal Group employees were unavailable for comment.

ICE is a division of the Homeland Security Agency. US Postal inspectors investigate charges of mail fraud and other illegal uses of the mail service.

The raid followed a weekend of uncertainty for shopkeepers who rent space at the Barn Shops. On Friday, June 25, a Delaware County sheriff’s deputy informed them that a sheriff’s sale for the center was scheduled for Aug. 20.

Gary Anderson, the owner of the Barn Shops, said he is negotiating with the bank and hopes the sheriff’s sale won’t be necessary.

Michael Menkowitz, the attorney representing Nova Bank, confirmed the parties were talking.

Shopkeepers were reluctant to discuss either matter. One, speaking under the cloak of anonymity, said the sheriff’s sale situation was “unsettling” and wondered how well any negotiations between the landlord and bank might go.

Another shopkeeper, also speaking with a promise of anonymity, said the people involved with The Herbal Group kept low profiles and rarely spoke to other business owners in the center, in contrast to others in The Barn Shops.

“I thought that was shady,” the shopkeeper said.

The Herbal Group’s offices are on the second floor of the building on the east side of the center.