STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Officials arrested the husband of Staten Island “Mob Wives” star Drita D’Avanzo in connection to a major drug bust that took place in New Jersey, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday.

Lee D’Avanzo, 52, was arrested and charged in connection to “Operation on the Ropes,” a year-long investigation that busted a total of 24 people in a ring that allegedly distributed marijuana and infused THC into popular candies, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

D’Avanzo, of Pleasant Plains, was charged with fourth degree conspiracy to possess marijuana and fourth degree possession of marijuana in excess of 50 grams, Gramiccioni said in a press release.

It is not clear what role exactly D’Avanzo played in the scheme.

During the operation, prosecutors discovered a distribution network of THC-infused candies like Nerds Rope and Sour Patch, Gramiccioni said.

“The network operators used regular candy to further their scheme, buying hundreds of boxes of product from wholesalers before transporting it to a processing facility where they would unwrap the individual pieces of candy, lay it out on trays and then spray the candy with a concentrated formula of THC distillate,'' Gramiccioni said. "Once the THC dried on the candy it was repackaged as an illegal marijuana edibles product for distribution across New Jersey.”

The operation took place in a warehouse on Park Avenue in Manalapan Township, N.J.

“The packaging on this THC laced ‘candy’ is almost indistinguishable from regular drug store candy," Monmouth County Chief of Detectives John G. McCabe said. “Your kids may be getting high right before your eyes if you are not paying close attention.”

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office gave credit to multiple law enforcement offices on Tuesday including the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD’s 123rd Precinct.

PREVIOUS RAID

D’Avanzo was arrested on Dec. 20 after the NYPD raided his home at 226 Woodvale Ave.

When police entered the home then, detectives found two loaded firearms, one inside a bedroom and one in the kitchen, according to the criminal complaint.

NYPD detectives found hydrocodone, a pain killer, and alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, in the couple’s bedroom, the complaint states.

Detectives also found “two scales, ziplock bags used for the purpose of unlawfully packaging a narcotic drug, a sum of United States currency and multiple cellular phones” inside the home, the complaint alleges.

Police recovered “a large quantity of marijuana” in the basement and in a kitchen cabinet that was accessible to their 12-year-old daughter, according to the complaint.

After the December arrest, D’Avanzo faced charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and endangering the welfare of a child.

It is not yet clear if the raid and the New Jersey arrest are connected.

PRIOR ARRESTS

D’Avanzo has served prison stints on numerous federal and state convictions.

He was arrested in “Operation Turkeyshoot," when four suspects were allegedly caught trying to break into the vault of a bank in New Springville in 2008. The evidence indicated that Lee and other suspects attempted to gain access by drilling through the walls of a neighboring building, according to Advance archives and documents previously filed in court by federal prosecutors.

Lee was on federal probation at the time for similar crimes and he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 36 months to five years in state prison.

In 2003, Lee was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison on a conviction of racketeering for multiple robberies, marijuana distribution, loansharking and money laundering.

In that case, he was identified by prosecutors in court documents as a member of the “New Springville Boys, a racketeering enterprise with connections to the Bonanno organized crime family.”