CHATFIELD — Two people were arrested Thursday morning after law enforcement found more than 5 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms growing at a Chatfield residence.
Members of the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office as well as members of the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement Team executed a search warrant about 11:15 a.m. Thursday at a residence in the 200 block of Mill Creek Road Northwest in Chatfield.
Inside the residence, authorities reportedly found approximately 2,423 grams, or 5.34 pounds, of suspected psilocybin mushrooms. The residence also served as a grow site for the mushrooms, which when ingested can cause hallucinations. Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I drug. Street value of what was seized could run between $12,00 and $15,000 or possibly more, according to Olmsted County Sheriff’s Capt. James Schueller.
Schueller described the grow operation as “pretty involved and detailed” and said it included 13 plastic totes with mushrooms in different stages of growth as well as a complex drying rack and processing station.
“It should be noted that the entire east bedroom was dedicated to the grow operation,” the criminal complaint states. “The scale and complexity of the operation far exceeded anything for personal use.”
Authorities reportedly found two shotguns and about $400 in cash.
The investigation into these individuals began with a controlled buy, according to Schueller.
Austin Dahl, 23, and Kailyn Felker, 23, were charged Friday in Olmsted County District Court with first-degree controlled substance sales, first-degree controlled substance possession and gross misdemeanor possession of firearm by any user of a controlled substance.
There has been an increase in mushroom and psychedelic controlled substance sales in the area, Schueller said.
