Duke University Police Department officers seized bags containing "leafy-green vegetable matter," white powder and 119 unidentified pills Thursday from a room on the third floor of Randolph Residence Hall.
No arrests had been made in connection with the case as of Sunday.
Also Friday, freshman Andrew Marcum, a resident of Pegram Residence Hall, was arrested for felonious possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute approximately 3 grams of marijuana and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, The Herald-Sun of Durham reported Sunday.
No link has been established between the Marcum arrest and the Randolph incident.
The door of the room in Randolph bears a poster from the movie "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," and its occupants are commonly referred to by the names of the studious, marijuana-smoking title characters. Police officers suspect that the room was the epicenter of an East Campus-wide drug operation, according to a DUPD search warrant.
A confidential informant, who confessed to using illegal substances with the two students on more than one occasion, stated in late February that the Randolph residents had prepared and distributed drugs from their dormitory and were major marijuana suppliers of the all-freshman campus, DUPD officer Rekayi Isley wrote in an affidavit in support of the search warrant.
Police officers observed "a bundle of green leafy substance" in the dorm room through an open door when responding to a complaint of marijuana odor March 25 but could not enter the residence because the freshmen were not present to give their consent, according to the police report.
Freshman Karthik Seetharam, who lives on the hall, said he had suspected the presence of drugs in the dorm over the course of the year.
"Kids smoke sh-, whatever," he said. "The bathrooms have definitely smelled like weed for a long time."
In addition to the suspected contraband, officers confiscated watches, two laptop computers, two external hard drives, three cameras, four empty beer boxes, two beer mini kegs and jewelry, including a ring with a cannabis design, from the Randolph room.
"It's been hard on [the students who have been investigated]," said freshman Mitch Heath, a third-floor resident of Randolph. "One of them just asked to borrow my computer-he's behind in his classes and everything's just screwed up for him. The other one's walking around with rashes on his neck because he doesn't have his allergy medication."
Randolph Resident Assistant Ryan Egan, a junior, declined to comment on the investigation. DUPD Maj. Gloria Graham and Randolph Residence Coordinator Chris Ellis could not be reached Sunday.
The two students from whom the substances were confiscated both declined to comment for this story.
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