Montreal police hit illegal magic mushroom shop with 3rd raid in 3 weeks
Police confirm 1 arrest, the seizure of drugs and the shooting of a dog
Montreal police have once again shut down FunGuyz, a shop that sells illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms, with Thursday's raid the third one in a little more than three weeks.
Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) spokesperson Const. Jeanne Drouin confirmed the arrest of a 24-year-old man and the seizure of drugs. The man was released and is set to appear in court at a later date.
A second raid took place at a residence in Place Charles-Le Moyne in Longueuil, Que. where more narcotics were seized.
Drouin said an officer from the Longueuil police department fired at a dog "for security reasons" at the residence, but she could not provide detail about the status of the animal.
The SPVM sent out details on Friday, saying that the three raids netted four kilograms of psilocybin in bulk form, 753 grams of psilocybin edibles, 1,643 psilocybin tablets and slightly more than $10,000 in cash.
Quebec's Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions says police have been granted an injunction to seize the building and prevent it from opening for a fourth time.
The first raid took place on July 11, the day the shop on Ontario Street East in the city's Ville-Marie borough opened. Four people were arrested that day.
The shop opened a few days later and was raided a second time on July 20, with police arresting five people.
FunGuyz advertises itself as a "medical dispensary" that sells magic mushrooms, a type of fungus that is considered a hallucinogen. It's a chain with several stores in Ontario.
Last month, people who identified themselves as the shop's owners claimed to be campaigners for the legalization of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.
The production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal in Canada, except for some medical contexts which require special permission from Health Canada.