Saad Al Mallak, 30, of Dittmer was among 35 people recently indicted in St. Louis in connection with an alleged conspiracy involving contraband cigarettes, synthetic drugs and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports.
Mallak and the other 34 people were indicted by a federal grand jury on May 24, with each of the defendants charged with various counts of conspiring to traffic contraband cigarettes, conspiring to distribute synthetic drugs or with alleged money laundering, the report said.
According to the indictment, the defendants conspired for more than two years to buy cigarettes in St. Louis, where there’s a “low-tax market,” and then transport and distribute them in Chicago and New Jersey, in “high-tax markets.”
“Defendants used several convenience stores they owned or operated to create the appearance of legitimate cigarette purchases,” the report said. “Illegal profits from the contraband cigarette sales were laundered through accounts associated with the convenience stores.”
The defendants also allegedly sold synthetic drugs, commonly called K-2, from some of the convenience stores, the report said.
“Defendants not only purchased finished product from a national distributor but manufactured synthetic drugs themselves, importing precursor chemicals from China,” according to the report.
“Synthetic drugs that are sold as purportedly legal substitutes for cannabis and stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, are neither legal nor safe,” said James P. Shroba, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division, in a written statement. “These substances were never intended for human consumption and only serve to satisfy the avarice of the seller.”
If convicted, the defendants face maximum penalties of five to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million.
Of the other 34 defendants, 13 are from St. Louis, 10 are from Illinois, eight are from New Jersey, one is from Virginia, one is from Indiana and one is from North Carolina.
The case was investigated by the DEA, Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois Department of Revenue, the Illinois State Police and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.