Cops Bust Up Pot Factory at Former Pizza Joint in Manchester

MANCHESTER, CT — A raid on a South Main Street building led to the seizure of 40 marijuana plants and authorities shutting down what they are describing as an "elaborate grow system," the East Central Narcotics Task Force said Thursday.

Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were also in on the search at 182 South Main Street, according to a report.

The owner of the building, 44-year-old Neil Alibrio of Hoffman Road, Manchester, was charged with possessing more than a half-ounce of marijuana, cultivating marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of the drug with the intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school, cocaine possession and possession of the drug with the intent to sell, according to the task force.

Alibrio was arrested at the British American Club on Maple Street and had cocaine on him when taken into custody, according to the task force. Alibrio posted a $200,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on May 3.

Records show the address was once home to a pizza place.

Police and DEA agents confiscated more than 1,500 marijuana vaporizer cartridges, marijuana "edibles" and more than 7 pounds of packaged marijuana — all worth more than $70,000 on the street, according to the task force.

That figure does not include the 40 plants, according to the task force.

Photo Credit: East Central Narcotics Task Force

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