Morris County Man Swept Up In 'Drug Candy' Ring Bust

RIVERDALE, NJ - A 39-year-old Riverdale male was one 24 people charged in a large-scale drug networkin New Jersey that largely involved turning candy – such as "Nerds Rope" and "Sour Patch" – into drugs, authorities said.

Ryan D. Hult was part of a drug ring operated largely throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Bergen counties as well as parts of New York. Those arrested were from those counties as well as Camden, Gloucester, Morris and Atlantic, authorities said.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation On The Ropes" uncovered a scheme to secretly convert legitimate candies, including the popular Nerds Rope and Sour Patch candy brands, into an illegal THC-infused product, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

"The network operators used regular candy to further their scheme, buying hundreds of boxes of product from wholesalers before transporting it to a processing facility where they would unwrap the individual pieces of candy, lay it out on trays and then spraying the candy with a concentrated formula of THC distillate. Once the THC dried on the candy it was repackaged as an illegal marijuana edibles product for distribution across New Jersey," explained Gramiccioni.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation On The Ropes" uncovered a scheme to secretly convert legitimate candies, including the popular Nerds Rope and Sour Patch candy brands, into an illegal THC-infused product, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the substance that creates most of marijuana's "high."

The illegal operation utilized a warehouse on Park Avenue in Manalapan Township and a hangar at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township as production and storage facilities. The approximate 21,000 pieces of candy were manufactured with unknown amounts of THC and totals over 100,000 individual doses, according to the MCPO.

The THC products that were processed were then intermingled with THC products that the network operators illegally trafficked into New Jersey from a supplier in California. The THC products have an estimated street value of nearly $900,000, according to authorities.

"The packaging on this THC laced 'candy' is almost indistinguishable from regular drug store candy. Your kids may be getting high right before your eyes, if you are not paying close attention. This illegal operation makes juveniles and anyone who consumes these products susceptible to random levels of drug toxicity," said Monmouth County Chief of Detectives John G. McCabe.

There is an ongoing investigation into the financial activities of the criminal enterprise. Anyone with information are urged to contact Captain Maria Reverendo of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, at 1-800-533-7443.

Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; can text "MONMOUTH" plus their tip to 274637; or, they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.

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