DEA and police raid Westford family home in marijuana oil bust, arrest six
Boston.com By Nik DeCosta-Klipa
Four Westford family members, along with two family friends, were arrested Wednesday on a litany of drug charges after federal and local law enforcement raided their 3,855-square-foot home in a marijuana oil lab bust.
According to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office, Westford police and a Drug Enforcement Administration drug lab team arrived at the Mountain View Lane home at 8 a.m. to execute a search warrant.
Upon arrival, officials said they found a large basement lab manufacturing butane honey oil, a yellow honey-like substance which contains a more potent level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
The process, in which butane liquid is put through marijuana buds, to create the yellow honey-like drug, also known as hash oil or dabs, can potentially cause hazardous or fatal explosions, according to the New England DEA head Michael J. Ferguson.
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Husband and wife Bradley Heath Sr., 63, and Diane Heath, 61, as well as their son Bradley Heath II, 22, and daughter Linley Heath, 28, were charged with possession with intent to distribute and the manufacturing of a Class C substance, as well as conspiracy to violate drug laws.
The Heath son, who allegedly sold the drug under the name “Gold Street Extracts,” was also charged with distribution of a Class C substance, possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance, possession of a Class B substance, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, according to officials.
Ayer District Court Judge Michael Brooks set Bradley Heath II’s bail at $30,000 cash on this case and detained him without bail on a probation violation from a previous case. Bail for the other three Heath family members was set at $500.
Westford resident Lyndsey Holston, 20, who police said is Bradley Heath II’s girlfriend, was also arrested in the case for manufacturing, distrbuting, and possessing with intent to distribute a Class C substance, as well as a conspiracy charge. Her bail was set at $1,000.
Twenty-two-year-old Groton resident Prachi Joglekar, a friend of Linley Heath, was also arrested for possessing with intent to distribute and manufacturing a Class C substance, as well as conspiracy charge. Joglekar’s bail was set at $500.
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The defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday. All six due back in court June 27.
“Their alleged lab operations compromised the safety and security of their neighbors, as well as the law enforcement officials who arrested the suspects today,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement.
