NERSTRAND, Minn. – In a perverse way, it might be said that Victor Wang is a back-to-nature kind of guy. According to evidence in a criminal complaint, Wang harvested bark and boiled it in slow-cookers into a thick reddish stew. But here’s the rub: The stuff was dimethyltryptamine, known among druggies as DMT – an LSD-like hallucinogenic. Wang, 36, was arrested on multiple controlled substance counts related felonies. He also was charged with having firearms in violation of a probation restrictions as a convicted felon. The arrest came as Wang was walking out of his house. He had 28 grams of meth in a pocket, gents said. Found in Wang’s basement and elsewhere in the house were:
> Tree bark and roots in trash bins.
> “Precursor chemicals” with rags used as filters.
> Two slow cookers in the basement with 100 grams of DMT sludge.
> 100 gams of substances in advanced stages of DMT production.
> Two grams of psilocybin mushrooms, also called magic mushrooms.
> A small amount of marijuana.
> A glass pipette.
> Packaging materials and scales.
> Two shotguns and a rifle.
Wang. Claimed he was using the red sludge to tie-dye T-shirts.
Basement lab
In Nerstrand, population 290, in Rice County12 miles northwest of Faribault. Drug production would have been outside strict safety protocols in the regulated pharmaceutical industry.
The raid
Led by the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force.
Verbatim
Scott O’Brien, task force commander: “Coming across a DMT lab is extremely rare. These labs create major risks to public safety.”