450 Pounds Of Illegal Marijuana Seized In Burlington County, 2 Charged: Police

COOKSTOWN, NJ — Police found more than 450 pounds of illegal marijuana and marijuana products in a search of two Burlington County properties and arrested two people, officials said.

Evesham Township police say 30-year-old Crystal Cain and 45-year-old Matthew Quinn of Cookstown were distributing unregulated marijuana out of a storefront. State law separates unregulated marijuana from regulated cannabis, which is purchased and sold from state-regulated dispensaries.

Police obtained search warrants for the properties in Evesham and Cookstown during "an extensive investigation" into the distribution of unregulated marijuana in Evesham Township, police said in a news release.

Cain and Quinn both face charges of distribution of more than 25 pounds of marijuana (a first-degree crime), fortifying a controlled dangerous substances (CDS) facility (third-degree), possession of more than 6 ounces of marijuana, and distributing CDS paraphernalia (both fourth-degree), police said.

The Evesham Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police T.E.A.M.S. unit executed search warrants on Nov. 8 in the 900 block of South Route 73 in Evesham and the 100 block of Cookstown New Egypt Road in Cookstown, police said.

Police arrested Cain and Quinn at their home and took them to the Burlington County Jail, a news release said.

Officers seized more than 450 pounds of raw marijuana, marijuana edibles, and "marijuana variants" at the store and the residence, a news release said.

"The Evesham Township Police Department recognizes the state’s new laws governing the use and sale of recreational marijuana," township police said in a release. "This case involves a blatant disregard of these new laws and ignores the safety of the citizens of New Jersey by the suspects distributing unregulated marijuana to our residents. We will continue to vigorously enforce the laws which govern the sale, use and distribution of unregulated marijuana while honoring the same laws afforded to our residents for recreational use and legal sale of marijuana."

The state considers marijuana and hashish controlled dangerous substances, which are largely decriminalized for non-distribution offenses.

Police told NJ Advance Media that the storefront was only used to sell marijuana and was otherwise not a legitimate business.