3 arrests in 3 years — Toms River man will serve prison time

A Toms River man who wouldn't let a couple of arrests stop him from continuing his "BudHub" marijuana operation in Ocean County has been sentenced to five years behind bars. Daniel Kessel, 37, was sentenced on Jan. 5 for multiple offenses ranging from tax evasion to running a drug production facility.

Kessel was first arrested in 2020 following an investigation into his use of a home in Berkeley Township for narcotics distribution. A search warrant executed on Kessel's residence came up with $18,000 cash, drug paraphernalia, two pounds of THC, and seven pounds of hashish. A safe deposit maintained by Kessel at a local bank had another $61,000.

In October 2021, authorities conducted a search of a home, camper and trailer that were believed to be in use by Kessel for the distribution of drugs. Detectives seized approximately $457,000 from those locations. Also, detectives seized nearly $95,000 from payment app accounts handled by Kessel. Following both arrests, Kessel was released "as a consequence of New Jersey bail reform," the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Kessel was eventually arrested again in 2023 following an investigation into whether a home in Toms River was being used by him for narcotics distribution. In a search of the property in February, detectives seized several ounces of marijuana and THC products. All of the charges are in relation to Kessel's operation of "BudHub," which was found to be illegally distributing marijuana throughout the county, the prosecutor's office said.

Charges against Kessel included: conspiracy to maintain a controlled dangerous substance production facility; conspiracy to commit financial facilitation and failure to pay income tax; and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Kessel pleaded guilty to all charges on Aug. 14. Each of the prison sentences handed down were for five years.

The sentences will run concurrently. Gallery Credit: Katherine Gallagher Gallery Credit: Abby Monteil.