BURLINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — A Connecticut man accused of running an illegal psilocybin mushroom growing operation worth about $8.5 million was arrested Thursday, according to police.
Connecticut State Police arrested 21-year-old Weston Soule after finding a clandestine mushroom-growing factory in his Burlington home.
The Drug Enforcement Administration Hartford Task Force and detectives said they went to the home at 9 a.m. Thursday after a tip from a caller.
When police arrived, officers saw ventilation equipment throughout the home that matched those used in clandestine laboratories, according to state police.
Detectives acquired a search warrant to enter the home after Soule did not consent to a search Thursday morning.
They went with Soule to a detached garage on the property, where detectives said they found a large mushroom-growing operation. Soule claimed that the type of mushrooms he was growing were not illegal, police said.
Inside the home, officers said they found psilocybin mushrooms – also called magic mushrooms – in various stages of growth. Psilocybin mushrooms are typically consumed for their hallucinogenic effects.
Soule admitted that the mushrooms were psilocybin and was arrested, according to police.
The 21-year-old was charged with possession with intent to sell/distribute narcotics and operation of a drug factory, police said. He was being held on a $250,000 cash/surety bond.