Former CEO of Mass. cannabis startup now the Willy Wonka of drug trafficking? Founder of firm behind bitterly contested Southie pot shop allegedly key player in Colorado narcotics ring | Quick Hits |
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The Willy Wonka of narcotics or just a big ole “misunderstanding?” Former Mass. cannabis CEO alleged key player in trafficking ring that infused hard drugs into chocolate bars for sale across the country, authorities say
He was the entrepreneurial son of the owner of a successful local construction company.
So when Massachusetts legalized pot in the early 2010s, Tim Caraboolad saw an opportunity and seized it with both hands.
Joined by his father, Geoffrey, Tim Caraboolad, the CEO for years of Native Sun Cannabis, waged a long and contentious battle with neighborhood residents to open a South Boston cannabis shop in an old industrial building, ultimately suing the city and winning, though opposition continues to simmer.
The Caraboolads opened cannabis retail shops in Hudson and North Attleboro and a growing complex in Fitchburg a well.
But the father-and-son team is apparently no more. In June, a Colorado grand jury indicted Tim Caraboolad and six others on charges of running “a sophisticated drug trafficking operation” out of a facility in the small town of Basalt that “distributed large quantities of narcotics infused in candy and nasal sprays.”
The operation that led to the arrests was dubbed “Molly Wonka,” with authorities alleging that the drug ring infused hard drugs into chocolate bars and drew up “custom menus” for buyers from across the country to peruse and order from.
