Alex Wigglesworth, Philly.com
Last updated: Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 3:47 PM
Authorities in Berks County have arrested two people for allegedly dealing “substantial quantities” of smokable and edible marijuana, including cannabis-laced cereal.
Michael Hash, 39, would extract the THC from marijuana, use it to prepare butter, and bake the drug-and-dairy mixture into commercial cereal, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Hash is accused of selling the stuff from his home in Shoemakersville, though prosecutors said he occasionally used his car to make deliveries.
The DA’s Drug Task Force launched a narcotics investigation in September, prompted by complaints from neighbors about suspected trafficking activity, officials said.
Within the space of a month, an undercover officer bought marijuana from Hash three separate times, according to investigators.
Prosecutors said a fourth undercover purchase was made from Hash’s alleged supplier, 20-year-old Adrian Alvarez, of Philadelphia.
Search warrants were executed on both men’s homes between Oct. 6 and this past Monday.
A search of Hash’s home, on the 700 block of Franklin Street, allegedly turned up two digital scales, about $9,000 worth of marijuana and nearly $4,000 in cash.
Investigators said they also seized 21 edibles believed to contain cannabis, handwritten records of edible sales and orders, a bag filled with THC-laced butter, and a machine used to manufacture the butter.
Confiscated from Alvarez’s home, on the 1800 block of Master Street, were about $12,000 worth of marijuana, a digital scale, a machine used to heat-seal pot in plastic bags, and about $7,600 in cash, prosecutors said.
Both men are charged with controlled substance possession and the manufacture, delivery or possession of drugs with the intent to manufacture or deliver.
Hash, who was released on $25,000 bail, faces additional counts of drug paraphernalia possession and conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Alvarez was also wanted by authorities in Monroe County and State College for charges of failure to appear in a simple assault case and aggravated assault, respectively.
He was jailed at the Berks County Prison after being unable to post $75,000 bail.
Officials said the drug investigation is ongoing, and more charges are expected to be filed.
Contact Alex Wigglesworth at 215-854-2305 or awigglesworth@philly.com. Follow @phila_lex on Twitter.
Contact the Breaking News Desk at 215-854-2443; BreakingNewsDesk@philly.com. Follow @phillynews on Twitter.
DA: Pot-laced cereal seized in Berks bust
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