WINTHROP — One man was arrested and others are expected to be charged in a case in which police found psilocybin mushrooms and LSD during a search of a Route 133 home.

Lawrence Cook, 46, was arrested after drug agents found a mushroom-growing operation inside his house, police said. Cook was not home when they conducted the raid, but his two children were. The arrest followed a months-long investigation, according to Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officials.

After his home was searched, Cook was found at the district court in Augusta where he had gone to resolve an unrelated matter. He was charged with aggravated drug trafficking and taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta where he was being held on $5,000 cash bail.

Psilocybin mushrooms, colloquially known as “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms,” produce mind-altering effects that often include hallucinations. Drug officials say the effects of the mushrooms are unpredictable and can cause an unpleasant or dangerous experience for the user.

The investigation, also involving Winthrop and Waterville police, is continuing and more arrests are expected, according to the MDEA.

In late June, drug agents and police arrested another person when investigators found mushrooms, 18 pounds of marijuana, cash and weapons at a Soper Road home in Winthrop, police said.

Police did not say whether that bust is related to the raid at Cook’s home.


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