USA - Mushrooms seized, five arrested

[Phungushead]

Mushrooms seized, five arrested

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Authorities arrested five people and seized what they described as an unusually large amount of hallucinogenic mushrooms on Tuesday, following a bust in the parking lot of a South Lake Tahoe Mexican restaurant.

At about 1:45 p.m. officers spotted a 23-year-old South Lake Tahoe man selling psilocybin mushrooms in the parking lot of Brothers Burrito House, said SLEDNET Task Force Commander Jeff Catchings.

South Lake Tahoe police officer Tony Broadfoot and police dog Duke approached the man, who allegedly tried to run — throwing a “large amount” of cash to the ground in the process, Catchings said.

Broadfoot released Duke, who caught up with the man and bit him, allowed officers to take him into custody, Catchings said.

Four other people at the scene, including two who were eating inside the restaurant, were implicated in the sales of the mushrooms and were placed under arrest, Catchings said.

No one employed by the restaurant was involved in the alleged drug sales, Catchings said.

Officers confiscated hallucinogenic mushrooms from two vehicles in the restaurant’s parking lot, and one suspect indicated additional mushrooms were being stored at a home in Kings Beach, Catchings said.

SLEDNET officers and Placer County Sheriff’s deputies later searched the home and found additional mushrooms, Catchings said.

Between two vehicles in the parking lot at Brothers Burrito House and the house in Kings beach, SLEDNET officers confiscated about 3 1/2 pounds of mushrooms.

The amount of mushrooms was unusually large, Catchings said.

“That’s probably the most I’ve seen, ever,” Catchings said. “Usually you get a little piece. This was a lot.”

All of those arrested are in their early 20s and were booked into El Dorado County Jail in South Lake Tahoe, Catchings said.

Three of those arrested are Oregon residents and possibly brought the mushrooms from Oregon to South Lake Tahoe, Catchings added.

In other news:

At about 5:30 p.m. on April 17, SLEDNET officers arrested a 56-year-old South Lake Tahoe man for allegedly selling cocaine out of his Barton Avenue home.

Undercover officers allegedly made several purchases totaling just under an ounce from the man over the past three months.

The “low-level” dealer had been using the drugs as a way to lure women to his home and take advantage of them, Catchings said.

The man could face enhanced charges for selling narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school because his home is next to the Kindertown preschool, Catchings said.

Adam Jensen/Tahoe Daily Tribune
Friday, May 01, 2009
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/art...ntprofile=1056

pic: tryptamind