Point Beach Man Busted In Alleged Ring That Turned Candy To Drugs

FREEHOLD – A Point Pleasant Beach man was among 24 people charged in a large-scale drug network in New Jersey that largely involved turning candy – such as "Nerds Rope" and "Sour Patch" – into drugs, authorities said.

Jason M. Lambros, 21, of Point Pleasant Beach was charged with disorderly persons offenses including possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The $1.9 million 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.

Read more: 24 Busted In NJ Ring That Allegedly Turned Candy Into Drugs

And they have a variety of backgrounds. Lee D’Avanzo, 52, the husband of "Mob Wives" star Drita D’Avanzo, was charged with fourth-degree conspiracy to possess marijuana and fourth-degree possession of marijuana in excess of 50 grams.

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.”

Operation On The Ropes culminated with the execution of over a dozen search warrants in Monmouth, Ocean, and Bergen counties resulting in the seizure of approximately 21,000 packages of candy infused with suspected THC, 1,100 pounds of suspected marijuana, as well as over 6,000 flavored THC vape cartridges, according to the MCPO.

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.