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TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man is accused of running a vending machine company that was illegally selling marijuana products across New Jersey at businesses not licensed to sell marijuana, authorities said Wednesday.
Ben Gross, 40, of Toms River was arrested Friday after a 26-month investigation that authorities say identified him as the owner of Barbwire, the vending machine company.
There were 80 vending machines seized across New Jersey, according to the joint news release from the Ocean and Monmouth County prosecutor’s offices.
Gross was earning between $17,000 and $20,000 per day from the machines, authorities said during detention hearings on Wednesday morning.
In addition, authorities searched Gross’s home in Toms River, along with homes in Lakewood and Jackson and a warehouse in Manchester on Friday, the prosecutor’s office said.
Also arrested were Delma Canales-Garcia, 50, and her wife, Susana Garcia-Canales, 42, both of Lakewood, and Carlos Sanchez-Castillo, 22, of Toms River, who were at the Manchester warehouse at the time of the search, authorities said. Susana Garcia-Canales was the warehouse manager, authorities said during detention hearings on Wednesday.
As a result of the searches, authorities seized more than 100 pounds of flower marijuana, 5 pounds of hashish, several hundred pounds of THC-infused candy, and THC-infused vaping products, prosecutors said.
The warehouse was used to package the marijuana for sale in the vending machines, authorities said during the detention hearings Wednesday morning.
“While marijuana possession is legal for adults under certain circumstances in New Jersey, it is still illegal to sell marijuana without proper licensure,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. “The distribution of cannabis is strictly regulated, and those who choose to operate outside of that legal framework will be held accountable.”
Gross was charged with possession of 25 pounds or more of marijuana with intent to distribute, maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, conspiracy to distribute 25 pounds or more of marijuana, possession of 5 pounds or more of hashish with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and financial facilitation, authorities said.
He was taken to the Ocean County Jail but was ordered released to await further court proceedings following a detention hearing before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels on Wednesday morning.
Delma Canales-Garcia, Susana Garcia-Canales, and Carlos Sanchez-Castillo each were charged with possession of 25 pounds or more of marijuana with intent to distribute, conspiracy to distribute 25 or more of marijuana, possession of 5 pounds or more of hashish with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia, authorities said.
All three were taken to the Ocean County Jail and all three were released to await further court action after their detention hearings.
“While recreational cannabis was legalized in New Jersey several years ago, clear-cut criminal penalties remain on the books for precisely this set of circumstances – because consumers in New Jersey deserve to know precisely what they are buying and from whom, resting assured that the production, packaging, and sale of their purchases has been arranged in safe, legal, and well-regulated fashion,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “These arrests and seizures should send a clear message to those who might choose to circumvent the rules for a quick profit: you will be investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable.”
Billhimer and Santiago said the investigation involved authorities from Middlesex, Warren, and Mercer counties, as well as multiple police departments in Ocean County, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. DEA’s High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force for Monmouth and Ocean County.
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