Two leaders of ‘largest synthetic drug conspiracy’ in Iowa sentenced

CEDAR RAPIDS - A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced two leaders responsible for the 'largest synthetic drug conspiracy” in Iowa to prison terms of 17 and 25 years.

U.S. District Judge John Jarvey said Ahmad Saeed, 50, of Tulsa, Okla., and his partner Muhammad Anwar, 50, of West Des Moines, were both wholesale leaders and directed five or more co-conspirators in this 'long-standing, lucrative and dangerous” conspiracy, spanning from 2010 to 2014.

Anwar and Saeed distributed K-2, spice, and bath salts to convenience store owners in Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham said based on testimony from Anwar's trial and other hearings in the case, more than 7 million grams of synthetic cannabinoids were sold during this conspiracy, which equates to an estimated $20 million to $40 million in profits.

According to testimony at Tuesday's hearing and previous hearings, other co-conspirators, such as suppliers of the synthetics, are also being prosecuted in Missouri. At least two of the suppliers involved with Anwar and Saeed provided information to Iowa authorities during the investigation.

Anwar was convicted by a jury in October 2015 for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogues and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison.

Saeed pleaded guilty last October to the same charges and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison.

Jarvey pointed out the dangerous synthetic drugs were marketed to kids in cellophane packages with bright labels and 'dressed up as something legal,” - potpourri or herbal incense - but were hidden behind the counter at stores.

Saeed received less time based on his lack of criminal history. Anwar had a previous conviction for fraud and had an enhancement in sentencing for maintaining a premises - a convenience store - to distribute and store the drugs.

Jarvey ordered both men to jointly forfeit $750,000, which he called a 'conservative” amount of illegal proceeds from their drug trade.

Chatham, in arguing for the prison terms, said the men knew the products were dangerous when they started selling to unsuspecting store owners and users, telling them the products were legal, but they didn't care because there were 'vast amounts of money to be made.”

He added: 'This was a crime of greed.”

According to testimony during the hearing, Anwar and Saeed were partners. Saeed already had suppliers in Missouri and he recruited Anwar to distribute drugs.

Chatham said the Iowa investigation started in about 2012 when synthetics were found in convenience stores in Waterloo.

Earl Ramos, 28, of Evansdale, who operated Five Star Snacks store in Waterloo, and his mother Mary Ramos, 55, who managed the former I-Wireless store, 1551 First Ave SE in Cedar Rapids, sold synthetics out of those stores and were convicted in 2015. They purchased their synthetics from Anwar and Saeed.

Muhammad Anwar Chaudhry of Waterloo, also was charged with distributing synthetics, but he has been a fugitive since 2015.

The searches that led to these prosecutions and others were conducted as a part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Project Synergy, a global takedown of synthetic drug manufacturers and distributors. In Project Synergy enforcement actions between December 2012 and June 2014, more than 227 arrests were made and 416 search warrants served in 35 states, 49 cities and five countries. More than $51 million in cash and assets was seized.

Project Synergy was coordinated by DEA's Special Operations Division, working with the DEA Office of Diversion Control, and included cases led by DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and IRS. In addition, law enforcement in Australia, Barbados, Panama and Canada participated, as well as a multitude of state and local law enforcement members.

l Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com