Mailed Psilocybin Mushrooms Lead To Large Drug Bust In Brick: Police

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township man has been charged with manufacturing drugs and maintaining a drug facility after authorities seized psilocybin mushrooms, firearms and tens of thousands of dollars in cash from his home, Brick police said Friday.

Lucian Demarco, 37, was arrested Tuesday after a search of his Mantoloking Road home prompted when a U.S. Customs agent intercepted a package from outside the United States that was headed to his address and contained psilocybin mushrooms, Sgt. Jim Kelly said.

An agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contacted the Brick police department's Street Crimes Unit detectives about the package on Oct. 4, and that led to the warrant on Oct. 11, Kelly said.

The subsequent search turned up several forms of psilocybin mushrooms, psilocybin capsules, psilocybin grow kits; an unspecified quantity of marijuana packaged for resale; marijuana business promotional items including business cards, stickers, pens, magnets, and branded plastic bags; alprazolam pills; Harmine powder, and paperwork indicative of operating a drug maintenance and distribution facility, Kelly said.

Detectives also discovered several safes, a shotgun, a rifle, a handgun with an extended magazine, and a large amount of cash, he said.

Demarco was charged with transporting/possession of property derived from criminal activity; possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine; maintaining/operating a controlled dangerous substance facility; possession of CDS; manufacturing/distributing CDS; committing a drug offense while in possession of a firearm, and paraphernalia and money laundering.

He is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Detectives from the Brick Township Police Department's Street Crimes Unit and from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, along with agents from the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security collaborated on the case, Kelly said.

"Chief Riccio would like to commend the Street Crimes Unit detectives as well as our federal and county law enforcement partners for a job well done," Kelly said. "Their efforts prevented these dangerous drugs from being distributed in our community."