Trending Topics

‘Suspicious’ delivery leads to discovery of 2,800 bags of magic mushrooms, Calif. cops say

The package, delivered to a Lake Elsinore business in August, had “psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana products,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said

By Daniella Segura
Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — A “suspicious package” mailed to a California business led authorities to a property with more than 2,800 bags of psilocybin mushrooms, deputies say.

The package, delivered to a Lake Elsinore business in August, had “psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana products,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a Nov. 27 news release.

Deputies processed the evidence and forwarded the case to the Lake Elsinore Special Enforcement Team, the sheriff’s office said.

Three months later, deputies identified a 43-year-old Lake Elsinore man as the suspect who shipped the package, according to the sheriff’s office.

While serving a search warrant at the man’s home, deputies “discovered a large-scale psilocybin mushroom cultivation operation,” the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies said they found “separate structures used for the cultivation, processing, and storage of large amounts of psilocybin mushrooms” on the man’s property.

Within those structures, deputies found about “445 pounds of vacuum sealed psilocybin mushrooms,” also known as magic mushrooms, and more than 2,800 bags of “psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of growth.”

The Lake Elsinore man was booked into jail on multiple felonies stemming from drug-related offenses and weapons violations, according to deputies.

An investigation is ongoing, deputies said.

Lake Elsinore is about a 70-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.

___

(c)2024 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
Visit the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) at www.mercedsunstar.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Trending
The man can be seen putting his hands up in mock surrender as a Berrien County deputy pointed a TASER at him; then he reached into his waistband, pulled out a handgun and fired
The 11 suspects arrested in the incident are accused of vandalizing vehicles and shooting off fireworks to lure ICE agents out of the center
When a Marion County deputy stopped to check on the man, he fired a flare at the deputy’s cruiser and began to act erratically before being taken into custody
After multiple reports of “kidnappings” that turned out to be ICE operations, LAPD officers are now required to request a supervisor, verify credentials and record BWC video during responses