NJ drug bust nets $243K, 100-plus pounds of weed at alleged drug 'convenience store'

LUMBERTON – Investigators seized $243,000 and more than 100 pounds of marijuana during an investigation into an alleged drug “convenience store” where customers were greeted by an armed guard in a bulletproof vest, authorities say.

Once inside the Route 38 business, shoppers surrendered their cellphones and were scanned by a hand-held metal detector before being buzzed into a back room, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

A large display area showcased marijuana, edibles and psychedelic mushrooms, the prosecutor’s office said Wednesday in announcing five arrests after a four-week investigation into the cash business known as Skraptyques.

It claimed the edibles were marketed in “counterfeit packages that resembled popular food items, such as Cheetos, Life Savers, Nerds (and) Skittles.”

One item resembled “a Cocoa Pebbles Krispie Bar which featured a picture on the package of Fred Flintstone with redness in his eyes.”

“This operation was not an authorized cannabis dispensary such as those presently being approved by the state,” said Prosecutor Scott Coffina.

“Rather, this was a brazen retail outlet operating as a convenience store for illegal marijuana, other CDS, and edibles in packaging that would make them very attractive to young children when their customers brought them home,” the prosecutor continued.

The store operated from Holly Center, a shopping plaza on the 1600 block of Route 38 that also holds tenants like a pizzeria, a gun shop and a shop known as Fantasy Smoke & Boutique.

Police also seized 48 packets of heroin and more than a pound of psychedelic mushrooms during the investigation.

The drugs and cash were confiscated during March 30 searches of the business, a self-storage facility in Mount Laurel, and four vehicles and a Mount Holly home.

The store's owners — Mathew Quinn, 44, and Crystal Cain, 30, of Mount Holly — were charged with possessing marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms with the intent to distribute.

The Madison Avenue residents are also accused of fortifying a CDS manufacturing/distribution facility and conspiring to distribute a controlled dangerous substance.

Cain was additionally charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia.

Also arrested were employees Nicole Colley, 31, of the first block of Dawn Drive in Mount Holly; Marion Huff, 26, of Tollgate Place Apartments in Florence. and Perry Brown, 55, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

They were charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance.

Colley was also charged with distribution of psilocybin mushrooms.

Brown, who provided security at the business, was charged with multiple weapons offenses, including possession of a firearm while committing a controlled dangerous substance crime.

All of the charges are only allegations. No one has been convicted in the case.

All five were released following appearances in Superior Court in Mount Holly.

Read next: Business expertise, record expungement offered at Stockton University cannabis fair

Carol Comegno contributed to this storyJim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: NJ drug bust in Lumberton nets weed, other drugs, $243,000