ICE investigation leads to the seizure of synthetic marijuana, 10 arrests

NEW YORK — Federal agents and New York City police officers descended Wednesday on five processing facilities and warehouses used to process, store, and distribute smokable synthetic cannabinoids (SSC), aka synthetic marijuana.  This law enforcement action resulted in the inspection of 80 stores and bodegas around New York City, and the arrest and indictment of 10 defendants charged with processing and distributing SSC.

These arrests resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), New York City Police Department, Sheriff of the City of New York.

The scheme, which operated in all five boroughs of New York City, allegedly involved the importation of at least 100 kilograms of illegal synthetic compounds, an amount sufficient to produce approximately 1, 300 kilograms of dried SSC product, or approximately 260,000 SSC retail packets.

This scheme involved the unlawful importation, manufacture, and distribution of massive quantities synthetic compounds in powdered form from China to the United States via delivery services, containing controlled substances, throughout the New York City area and elsewhere. Abdullah Deiban, Faris Nasser Kassim, Morad Nasser Kassim, aka “Bk,” Nageab Saeed, Walide Saeed, Mohamed Saeed, Hamid Moshref, Mohamed Salem, Mohamed Almatheel, And Fikri Nagi, the defendants, were members of an international organization that trafficked, manufactured, and distributed SSC (the “Organization”).

The organization bundled the SSC product into retail packets bearing colorful logos and brand names and arranged for the transfer of bulk quantities of the SSC retail packets to warehouses controlled by wholesale distributors. The SSC retail packets were sold under names such as “AK-47,” “Blue Caution,” “Green Giant,” “Geeked Up,” “Psycho,” “Red Eye,” and “Black Extreme,” each containing between approximately three and six grams of product, and sometimes marked “not for human consumption,” or “potpourri.” The illegal SSC retail packets were sold to individual customers for approximately $5 per packet.

SSC are widely accessible because they are inexpensive and commonly sold at otherwise legitimate retail locations. The colorful logos used on the SSC retail packets and the flavors used, such as lime, strawberry, and blueberry, make SSC attractive to teenagers and young adults.