Photo by: Champaign County sheriff's office Kaudee Racelis Image

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URBANA — Three University of Illinois students are in police custody, suspected of selling large amounts of Ecstasy and cannabis for about two years.

UI Police Sgt. Joe McCullough said he and the other four detectives in his targeted response unit served search warrants simultaneously on two campus apartments about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, finding thousands of dollars worth of several kinds of psychedelic drugs.

"They were stocking up with a lot for prospective buyers for tomorrow," McCullough said of Unofficial St. Patrick's Day Friday. "We know that through text messaging and from what they told us."

The investigation, which began almost a year ago and picked up steam within the last six weeks, resulted in the arrests of Elliot Lam, 20, who listed an address in the 0-100 block of East Healey Street; his girlfriend, Kaudee Racelis, 21; and one of her roommates, Alexander Rymarz, 21. Racelis and Rymarz shared an apartment with two other people in the 200 block of East Green Street, Champaign.

After making several controlled buys of Ecstasy (MDMA) and cannabis from Lam and Racelis in the last six weeks, McCullough said UI police obtained search warrants for their apartments Wednesday.

Both apartments are within 1,000 feet of Scott Park in Champaign, a factor that enhances some of the felony charges against them.

At Lam's apartment on Healey Street, police found:

— 26 hits of suspected LSD.

— About 5 grams of suspected MDMA.

— About 5 1/2 ounces (161 grams) of suspected cannabis.

— About 8 grams of suspected psilocybin mushrooms.

— 7 1/2 suspected Adderall pills, used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.

— $803 cash.

Found in the apartment of Racelis and Rymarz on Green Street were:

— 26 hits of suspected LSD.

— About an ounce (30.5 grams) of a substance that tested positive for MDMA.

— About 2 1/2 ounces (73 grams) of suspected cannabis.

— $12,262 cash.

McCullough said all three students are juniors from the suburban Chicago area and had allegedly been selling drugs for about two years. "They had a financial plan to save a lot of money," McCullough said of Lam and Racelis.

McCullough said two of his detectives were actually working separate drug cases on Lam and Racelis and about a month ago realized that the two were related.

Police got a judge's permission to search cellphone records of the three and have more than 250,000 text messages to comb through, McCullough said.

Lam, an engineering physics major, told police that he and Racelis, a chemistry major, were selling about an ounce of Ecstasy and two pounds of cannabis a week. They were paying Rymarz, who's studying psychology, about $3,000 a pound for the cannabis, he said. Racelis was supplying Ecstasy to Rymarz, police said.

"They found a market for MDMA and they got in over their heads," McCullough said.

He said none of the three was on the radar of police before the drug investigation began near the end of the 2014 spring semester. None has any prior arrests or convictions.

"I think they didn't realize. They hadn't thought through the consequences of their actions," the narcotics detective said.

The drug unit's investigation into the trio's activities was going on as fellow detectives from their department and others were investigating the late January shooting death of another UI student, Vicente Mundo, believed to be killed for cash and cannabis that he was reportedly selling. Two men have been arrested and charged with his murder.

Assistant State's Attorney Dan Clifton drafted the charges Thursday filed against the trio, based on what police found in their respective apartments Wednesday.

Lam is charged with possession with intent to deliver LSD, a Class X felony based on the amount of the drug found; possession with intent to deliver Ecstasy, a Class X felony because he allegedly had it within 1,000 feet of a city park; possession with intent to deliver cannabis, a Class 3 felony; and possession of a controlled substance for allegedly having the psilocybin within 1,000 feet of Scott Park. That's a Class 2 felony.

Racelis and Rymarz were both charged with possession with intent to deliver LSD, a Class X felony based on the amount; possession with intent to deliver Ecstasy, a Class X felony based on the amount; and possession with intent to deliver cannabis, a Class 3 felony.

Judge John Kennedy set bond at $125,000 for each of the three, and set their next court dates on April 7.

The most serious of the charges are the Class X felonies. If convicted, they face a mandatory prison term of between six and 30 years.