Feds find pot in raid of Bay St. Louis seafood market

Published 1:00 pm Thursday, June 18, 2015

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) — The owner of a Bay St. Louis seafood market has been arrested on charges of cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Federal and local authorities raided Cowart Seafood on Wednesday and arrested the owner, Mack Ray, 46.

Melissa Scallan, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, said Ray is suspected of violating the Lacey Act, which pertains to interstate commerce involving fish, wildlife or plants.

“There is a link to Louisiana,” Scallan told The Sun Herald (http://bit.ly/1Fo9qGB ). “That’s why there was a federal warrant.”

Scallan said federal authorities are not releasing all the details of the investigation because there are others involved that have yet to be arrested.

The Hancock County Narcotics Task Force was called in after authorities discovered marijuana and marijuana plants during the raid, Chief Deputy Don Bass said. Agents also found guns in the business.

Bass did not yet have further details of the narcotics investigation but said it was a “substantial amount” of marijuana recovered from the scene.

Ray is held in the Hancock County jail. No bond had been set pending an initial court appearance. It was not known if Ray has an attorney.