Police in Connecticut shut down a psilocybin mushroom factory with $8.5 million worth of psychedelic mushrooms inside a man’s home.
Investigators lined up hundreds of white baggied mushrooms in several quadrants along the front yard of the Burlington, Connecticut residence.
The bust came from a tip to The Drug Enforcement Administration Hartford Task Force Thursday morning.
“Weston Soule, a 21-year old man, initially denied that the mushrooms he was growing there were illegal,” police said. “When Soule was questioned if we could search his home, which had ventilation equipment resembling that used in other drug factories visible from the outside, he turned our detectives away.”
However, police returned a day later with a search warrant, uncovering the factory teeming with mushrooms at different growth stages. After further investigation, it was deemed that Soule had an estimated $8.5 million worth of street value mushrooms.
“After are search proved fruitful, Soule finally conceded that the mushrooms were in fact psilocybin, which is considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance. These are not permitted for medical use and can easily be abused, an officer added.
Connecticut State Police processed and charged Soule later that day with possession with intent to sell/ distribute narcotics and operation of a drug factory.
Soule, who was held on a $250,000 cash/ surety bond was scheduled for arraignment at New Britain Superior Court Friday.
