Building At Wall Airport Used In THC Candy Operation: Prosecutor

WALL, NJ — A group producing THC-infused candy illegally and then selling its concoctions was using a building at the Monmouth Executive Airport for some of its production activities, authorities said Tuesday.

The Monmouth County prosecutor's office said its execution of search warrants at multiple sites following a yearlong investigation led to criminal charges for 24 people. It also led to the seizure of $1.9 million worth of THC candies and vaping cartridges laced with the active ingredient that gives marijuana its "high."

The prosecutor's office said about 21,000 packages of candy infused with suspected THC, 1,100 pounds of suspected marijuana, and more than 6,000 flavored THC vape cartridges, with a total estimated street value of $1.9 million, were seized, with what it said was a hangar at the airport and a warehouse in Manalapan used for the production.

Officials with the airport issued a statement clarifying that the organization used a space in the industrial park at the complex.

"This incident was isolated and did not involve flight operations at Monmouth Executive Airport," the statement on the airport's Facebook page said. "The space rented was on the industrial park side of the airport complex which is detached from airport operations."

"The Monmouth Executive Airport cooperated with authorities and we are pleased that they are able to keep our airport safe and monitor suspicious activities. The airport is monitored closely by airport security and is frequently patrolled by local, county and state law enforcement agencies," the statement said.

The prosecutor's office alleges the organization took regular candy, including Sour Patch candies and Nerds Ropes, laid the candies in trays and would spray them with concentrated THC. Once it dried, they would repackage the candy as illegal marijuana edibles and sell it all over the state,

The candy was manufactured with unknown amounts of THC and totaled more than 100,000 individual doses, Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said. 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, the prosecutor's office said.

In addition to the drug seizures, 24 people were charged as Operation On The Ropes. Read more: 24 Busted In NJ Ring That Allegedly Turned Candy Into Drugs

"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," said Monmouth County Chief of Detectives John G. McCabe. "This illegal operation makes juveniles and anyone who consumes these products susceptible to random levels of drug toxicity."

Seized during the investigation were 1,200 THC-infused Sour Patch Watermelon candy packages labeled, "Stoner Patch" edibles; 6,250 "Baked Burgerz" edibles; 3,111 TCH-infused "Nerd Ropes," individually repackaged in red, pink, yellow and blue wrappers. Also seized were 1,151 Tic Tac-type containers without labels; numerous boxes and trays of Nerd Ropes in various stages of the infusion process; and 6,542 THC vape cartridges in 16 different flavors.

"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," said Monmouth County Chief of Detectives John G. McCabe. "This illegal operation makes juveniles and anyone who consumes these products susceptible to random levels of drug toxicity."

"The operation used their own wrappers and labels to repackage the drug-infused candy. There were no sanitary measures taken, no safety apparatus, and there were certainly were no standards in place to ensure the product was not contaminated," said Middletown Township Police Chief Craig Weber, President of the Monmouth County Chiefs Association. "Consumers of these products had no way of knowing exactly what they were ingesting."

In addition to the drug seizures, 24 people were charged as Operation On The Ropes. Read more: 24 Busted In NJ Ring That Allegedly Turned Candy Into Drugs

More than $10 million in assets, including $1,483,859 in cash, and 21 high-end exotic vehicles, including cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and Mercedes Benz, with an estimated total value of approximately $2,783,445, were also seized as part of the criminal investigation.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information about the activities of any of the defendants or any of the following companies is asked to contact the Monmouth County prosecutor's office: Empire Pain Center; Empire Power and Gas Holdings; Global Empire International Holdings; Supreme Lead Generations; Platinum Communication Services; Platinum Funding Associates; Jenza Properties, LLC; Dynasty Property Holdings.

Contact Capt. Maria Reverendo of the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office at 1-800-533-7443.
Anonymous tips can be reported to the Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; or you can text “MONMOUTH” plus the tip to 274637; or, they can email a tip via the website at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.