Posted on 01/27/2007 2:16:15 AM PST by dennisw
A group of immigrants living in Columbus used a ring of convenience stores to illegally distribute methamphetamine precursor drugs, contraband cigarettes and commit food stamp fraud, according to indictments for 11 people arrested Saturday by federal agents.
As many as 135,000 pills and more than 60,000 contraband cigarettes were sold through the Key Station on Waterworks Road, CK Discount Store on Fourth Street South and Stop and Save Grocery on Military Road between December 2005 and August 2006, federal prosecutors allege.
Included among the 11 people arrested in connection with the case is Hamzah Ali Ahmed, better know to many Columbians as “The Godfather.”
Also charged are his wife, Fandah Kissim Ahmed, and Muna Hamzah Ahmed; Omar Musaed Ali; Adeeb Naji Amer, also known as “Ed”; Fnu Lnu, a.k.a. “Nick”; Fouad Fadec Mohamed, Khaled Hezam Nagi, a.k.a. “Adam”; Ahmed Mohamed Qasem, a.k.a. “David”; Saleh Ali Rashed, a.k.a. “Mohamed”; and Abdo Hamed Yahia, a.k.a. “Mike.”
All the defendants are being held without bond until their court appearances.
The 39-count indictment alleges the group sold large quantities of pseudoephedrine “having reasonable cause to believe that the listed chemical would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.”
The first 35 counts of the indictment involve drug conspiracy, while count 36 deals with contraband cigarettes and the final three counts allege food stamp fraud. The defendants are accused of buying stolen cigarettes without proper Mississippi tax stamps. In the food stamp cases, Omar Musaed Ali and Ahmed Mohamed Qasem, a.k.a. “David,” are charged with redeeming food stamp benefits through Electronic Benefit Transfer cards in exchange for discounted amounts of cash.
Muna Hamzah Ahmed, Fandah Kissim Ahmed, Abdo Hamed Yahia and Ahmed Mohamed Qasem all pleaded not guilty to charges in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen Wednesday.
According to Delores Lewis, co-director of public affairs for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the arrests were part of a yearlong joint investigation that resulted in 33 arrests in 10 northern Mississippi counties.
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents initiated the investigation, code-named Operation 607, in late 2005, after Gov. Haley Barbour signed House Bill 607.
The state law makes it a crime to dispense ephedrine and pseudoephedrine under circumstances knowing, or where one reasonably should know, that the precursor will be used to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance.
Ephedrine is commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Eight other Columbus suspects were held Saturday by the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center following the arrests on charges filed by the MBN, but Joey Brackin, commander of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, said the suspects have since been transferred to federal custody.
Those people are Omar Kahtan Mohammed, 29, of 110 Highway 45 South in West Point; Yasser Hezam Nagi, 25, of 417 Forrest Blvd. in Columbus; Anwar M. Sedek, 20, of 702 Military Road in Columbus;
Abdulhakim Borou, 29, of 3946 Highway 182 E., Apt. 11-C in Columbus; Abdel M. Saleh, 40, of 12502 Highway 45 N. in Columbus; Ragaee A. Rashed, 25, of 1202 Fourth St. S. in Columbus;
Joyce B. Johnson, 46, of 222 Burgundy Drive in Columbus; and Arthur Harrison, 44, of 2022 17th Ave. N. in Columbus.
Mohammed was being held for another jurisdiction. The others were all charged with possession or sale of ephedrine tablets.
The "Friends of Hussein Obama" group will immediately begin attacking you:
"How do you know they're Muslim? Just because they have Muslim names, that doesn't prove anything!"
"Muna Hamzah Ahmed, Fandah Kissim Ahmed, Abdo Hamed Yahia and Ahmed Mohamed Qasem all pleaded not guilty to charges in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen Wednesday. "
those people need more pork in their diet
I am giving odds that they will use the "Sharia Law" defense. Any takers?
Intern all Muslim/Islamist in this country.
Pakistani Muslims pay for the Kashmir jihad with drug-money. Islam permits this sale of drugs to non-Muslims, I guess.
Cracking down on muslim organized crime is one of the best ways to de-fund terrorism. Added benefit of putting the perps away for a long time. The FBI and state agencies need a whole branch dedicated to wiping out these criminal enterprises.
Why does it take 10 months to close up an investagation. How many people were screwed up because of this?
I work in the C-Store industry as a vendor and deal with these type of people all day long, it always amazes me when I meet a clerk or manger that obviously is foreign born, can barely speak English and his name tag says Ed, Mike, Bill, Steve.
I have wondered why and if it is cover
The convenience store business might collapse if the FBI diggs too deeply.
You would be amazed at how deep and complex the business ownership schemes many of these store are.
I wonder if selling the illegal cigarettes caused their problems.
I happened to see the sentencing in a trial of somebody involved in one of the schemes. It involved financing and refinancing, with the excess proceeds going to - you guessed it, a madrassa in Pakistan run by a terrorist sheik. It took the FBI a long time to track it down because these deals are very complex. Of course, then they were working with a data source that has since been cut off by Congress, so I guess we can expect it to take even longer now.
They're not "real" muslims, but people who have hijacked a religion. If they were "real" muslims, they wouldn't be doing drugs. </ sarc>
Raising money for hizbutthola or al qaeda?
LLS
Sorry, I never heard of Columbus, Mississippi.
And let's not forget, the FBI has to play by the rules [least,they get hauled into court and/or the case gets thrown out of court -- thanks to some ACLU type lawyers] whereas the bad guys can pretty much do withever the devil they want.
"The convenience store business might collapse if the FBI diggs too deeply."
I agree...all convenience stores and motels should be investigated as "fronts" for jihadis. It is no accident that one rarely sees a white face behind the counter anymore.
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