EUNICE, La. (KLFY) – A Eunice man was arrested after an undercover operation revealed the sale of illegal mushroom chocolate bars.
According to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Narcotics Enforcement Team received a Crime Stopper tip on Monday that employees were selling “Polk A Dot” mushroom chocolate bars at Vapor One on Hwy. 190. This product, which contains Amanita Muscaria, is illegal in Louisiana and is classified as a hallucinogenic under state law.
Detectives conducted an undercover operation at Vapor One in order to purchase the mushroom chocolate bars. After inspecting the chocolate bar, detectives confirmed that the “Polk a Dot” bar contained the active ingredient Amanita Muscaria according to the manufacture label.
Detectives then obtained and executed a search warrant at Vapor One where they found a secret room behind a false cabinet. The secret room contained the following:
Detectives also located $632 in cash in the register, $40 of it being identifiable police money used to purchase the mushroom chocolate bar.
Jayaprakash Mullangi, 27 of Eunice and the owner and operator of Vapor One, was detained by detectives at the Chevron on West Laurel Avenue in Eunice. Detectives discovered that Mullangi was also the manager at that location.
Mullangi admitted that he was in possession of mushroom gummies on the premises. Detectives then executed a second search warrant at the Chevron location and discovered the following:
25 “Polk a Dot” gummies
37 Caps gummies
$6154
Mullangi was later transported to the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional questioning. Mullangi said that he was 50% owner of Vapor One, which he had purchased on October 2. He said that he was in charge of the day-to-day operations and responsible for ordering merchandise and admitted to knowing about the secret room and the sale of illegal products.
Mullangi was transported to the St. Landry Parish Jail and charged with the following:
Transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses (2 counts)
Unlawful production, manufacture, distribution, or possession of hallucinogenic plants (8 counts).
Mullangi was charged with one count each for the different brand/type of mushroom products, not the actual amount of total products. His bond was set at $100,000.
Anyone with information about illegal weapon or drug activity is encouraged to call the St. Landry Parish Sheriff Department’s hotline at 337-948-0970 or 948-1030. All callers and information are kept strictly confidential. You may also call Crime Stoppers at 337-948-TIPS, download the P3 app on your mobile device or simply dial **TIPS on your mobile phone to tip.
All calls are anonymous and you can earn a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
