The July 27 raids of Tucson smoke shops and homes resulted in the indictments of at least nine people locally in connection with an interstate crime ring trafficking in the drug commonly known as “spice,” newly unsealed federal records show.
The raids targeted the trafficking of synthetic marijuana between a warehouse in Long Beach, California, and smoke shops in Tucson, U.S. District Court records show. Federal prosecutors said the ring was coordinated by the Denver-based owner of the warehouse.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and local agencies served 32 search warrants in Tucson, Denver, and Long Beach, netting 600 pounds of spice, a possible spice lab, several luxury vehicles and $350,000 in cash.
The DEA did not release information on the suspects at the time of the raids, but recently released court records show federal grand juries handed down four indictments that include a total of 21 defendants — four whose names were redacted from court records.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged the ring’s operations included the Long Beach supplier shipping spice on 14 occasions since January 2012 to Abdulkader Alghaithi’s house near East Valencia Road and South Alvernon Way.
The spice was then distributed to smoke shops in Tucson that are owned and operated by the other defendants, prosecutors said.
The government said the synthetic compounds used in this spice are controlled substances and were sold under the brand names “Klimax,” “Hydro,” “Diablo,” “Diablo Gold,” and “Toxic,” among others, court documents show.
Spice, which is commonly sold in small packages in smoke shops, gas stations and neighborhood stores, mimics THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The packets in this case were labeled as incense, potpourri, or “not for human consumption,” but prosecutors said it was clear those labels were false and constituted mail fraud.
Two of the 21 defendants, Majdi “Mike” Khaleq and Naji “JJ” Abdalkhaleq, who are from Denver, kept in contact with suppliers in Los Angeles and arranged sales to retailers in Tucson, including in one transaction where 4,000 packets of synthetic cannabinoids labeled “Nightmare” and “Virus” were sold, documents state.
At least nine of the 21 defendants own and operate smoke shops in Tucson.
Defendants own four businesses cited in court records as targets of the raids, including Prince Market, 1040 W. Prince Road; a second Prince Market, at 952 W. Prince Road; LA Smoke Shop, 50 W. Drachman St.; and Chihuahua Market, 4870 S. 12th Ave. At least three more businesses were referenced in court documents but not named.
Court records do not make clear the roles of several defendants in the spice ring, but they mention cashiers employed at the stores who likely live in the Tucson area.
The charges include: conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; mail fraud; conspiracy to commit interstate racketeering; and racketeering.
While three of the defendants are facing up to five charges each, eight others have been charged only with conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance.
Prosecutors said cashiers at the smoke shops were paid a bonus for every packet of spice they sold and were required to keep separate ledgers for legitimate sales and spice sales.
One of the defendants, Nasir Ibrahim, is the owner of the two Blue Moon Smoke Shop locations raided by law enforcement and brother to Hesham Ibrahim, whose house was raided by federal agents, as the Star reported Thursday. In that raid, court documents said packages of spice, a loaded handgun, marijuana, “leafy” material and $60,000 in cash were seized.
According to the Arizona Corporation Commission and Secretary of State databases, defendant Jamil Qasem is the registered owner, along with his wife, of the Prince Market at 1040 W. Prince Road. The market and one of Qasem’s residences were raided July 27.
Qasem’s wife, who is not among the named defendants although four names were redacted from the records, is also listed on the secretary of state’s database as the owner of the second Prince Market at 952 W. Prince Road, and the LA Smoke Shop on Drachman. The market was involved in the DEA raid, but it’s unclear if the smoke shop was raided.
The indictment states that defendant Qasem Mahmoud Shahin also owns smoke shops in Tucson, but it’s unclear from the documents which shops.
A public-records search linked defendants Abdulkadar Alghaithi, Najib Alghaithi and Musa Salahedin to three additional locations that were raided, including the Chihuahua Market.
The defendants’ birthplaces include Kuwait, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Marianas Islands and the United States. The nine defendants have surrendered their passports, documents state.
Defense lawyers said they are waiting for disclosure from the federal government, which could include thousands of pages, before commenting on the indictments.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office would not comment and the DEA did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
