Major drug operation stumbled upon by police

A pair of rental trucks are parked outside the Safety Building in Toledo. They were allegedly taken by Toledo police during a drug bust.

Toledo police were expecting to find three men, possibly with guns, inside an East Toledo home Sunday morning.

That is, after all, what someone using a pay phone called to report.

But when officers arrived at 2454 Woodford St., just after 4 a.m., they found no burglars - although a side door appeared to have been pried open - but stumbled upon a large-scale drug operation.

Police confiscated enough psilocybin mushrooms, sometimes referred to as "magical mushrooms," and other evidence from five locations to fill three large Penske rental trucks, two of which were parked outside the downtown Safety Building for several hours on Monday.

"This is ... by far the largest mushroom seizure I've ever seen," said Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan.

Police are still sorting through all of the evidence taken from the multiple scenes so it's unclear how many drugs were confiscated. The massive amount of processing that officers were doing on Monday even closed the Toledo police property room, Sergeant Heffernan said.

The sergeant said the drugs are now "at an off-site location where everything is being processed."

Police said that evidence taken from the scene led detectives to four other properties around the region, including three Toledo locations: 456 Arden Place, 240 Eastern Ave., and 1318 Camden St., and one home in Whitehouse, Ohio, at 5910 Berkey Southern Rd.

"The detectives really did some excellent work," said Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan.

Two of the searched properties are home to two of the three men arrested on Sunday.

Arraigned in Toledo Municipal Court Monday were Ian Golbinec, 31, of 240 Eastern.; Matthew Thierry, 41, of 5910 Berkey Southern; and Mikael Stiles, 31, of 5360 Secor Rd.

Each suspect is charged with trafficking in drugs, illegal manufacturing of drugs, and possession of drugs. Mr. Golbinec and Mr. Thierry are also charged with tampering with evidence. Bonds were set, for each suspect, at $50,000, according to court records.

A cash bond was posted for Mr. Thierry Monday by Sara Lyke Thierry, according to court records. He was released from jail Monday night, but could not be reached by phone for comment.

All three men are to appear in court again on Sept. 24.

Sgt. Heffernan said it's unclear if there really was a break-in at the Woodford Street home.

In addition to processing evidence, officers continue to investigate the operation.

"Why is this that large of an operation in Toledo?" Sergeant Heffernan asked. He added detectives would try to determine if the drugs were being used locally or if there was a more broad distribution.