Canadian police bust criminal group accused of making illegal edible cannabis products packaged like branded candy

Canadian police say they have arrested six people and dismantled an organized crime group believed to be producing tens of thousands of counterfeit marijuana-infused confections and edibles that resemble popular branded products.

The Pacific Rim began earlier this month when Royal Canadian Mounted Police federal police investigators executed search warrants at two dispensaries and five separate residences on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 3, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Service. Police on Tuesday.

“These arrest warrants were related to an organized crime group allegedly involved in the production and distribution of illegal drugs and the production and distribution of contraband tobacco in Port Alberni and Nanaimo,” authorities said. “The dispensaries in question were Green Coast Dispensary in Port Alberni and Coastal Storm Dispensary in Lantzville.”

Authorities said search warrants were also executed at a suspected storage area in the Port of Alberni, as well as a storage and manufacturing facility adjacent to the Coastal Storm Dispensary, including two modular trailers where edible cannabis products were manufactured, stored and distributed.

The list of seized items includes over 120,000 items, including more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of psilocybin mushrooms, 1,740 psilocybin capsules, more than 400 pieces of psilocybin in packaging resembling popular branded chocolate bars, potato chips, nacho chips, honey and other candies. Contains more than edible marijuana. chocolate, candies and numerous other psilocybin products, 2.2 pounds of pressed cannabis resin, more than 500 pounds of cannabis buds, more than 19 pounds of shatter, more than 5,000 marijuana vape cartridges, fake cannabis-laced honey, five vehicles, two ATM machines Police, It said it contained cash, an estimated 164 cases of contraband tobacco equivalent to 82,000 packs of cigarettes, more than $400,000 in cash and a shotgun.

“While the smuggled marijuana-laced candy bars and chips appeared to be professionally produced, packaged and quality-controlled products, they were discovered to have been produced in extremely unsanitary and heavily contaminated modular trailers,” RCMP officials said. “Preliminary evaluation of the edibles also indicates that they were treated with unknown amounts of THC and were likely subject to cross-contamination with other drugs and substances found in the trailers in which they were produced and packaged.”

Equally concerning was that the counterfeit snacks contained claims on their packaging that they had medicinal properties and dangerously high drug potency values, with many candy packaging labels claiming to be “100 times more potent than regulated cannabis products,” according to police.

“Given the extremely dirty and unsanitary conditions of the illicit drug production facility where these edible cannabis products are produced, it is possible that consumption of these products could lead to serious health risks,” RCMP said. “We advise the public to use extreme caution if they own or encounter such products in the future, especially as Halloween approaches.”

This investigation is ongoing and multiple drug crime-related charges are being pursued.