Approximately six to eight months ago, Robeson County District Attorney Matthew Scott requested assistance from the Southeastern North Carolina Violent Crime Task Force to investigate vape stores in Robeson County.
The task force was formed in 2020 to address violent crimes such as drug and weapons offenses in towns within Robeson County, and has since expanded to include jurisdictions within Cumberland and Hoke Counties.
District Attorney Scott’s request came after multiple individuals overdosed on vape products purchased at the stores and he received information the stores were selling illegal THC products. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the principal compound of Marijuana.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation, which was expanded from Robeson County to Cumberland and Bladen Counties.
Officers made undercover purchases at over 100 different vape store locations which resulted in the execution of search warrants at the establishments, as well as the homes of two store owners. The search warrants took place on September 17th and 18th.
These stores are known to advertise their products as being legal, and only containing levels of THC permitted by law, when in fact they contain much higher levels in violation of North Carolina General Statutes.
The legal limit in North Carolina is under .3%.
These products also contain many harmful chemicals which have caused overdoses resulting in some long-term significant health issues for some vape users.
Additionally, these vape stores advertise products intentionally designed to entice younger people to purchase them, such as using the names of legitimate brands of cereal, candy, potato chips, and other food related items on the packaging.
These legitimate companies are not involved in the sale of the illegal products nor did they give permission for their brand names to be used. 30,896 such counterfeit items were seized during the investigation with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $313,806.
The North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office Trademark Law Enforcement Agents responsible for investigating counterfeit products assisted with the search warrants and seized these products. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is here and will now speak about their involvement- Secretary of State Marshall.
As a result of the initial search warrants being executed, officers also seized over 1,800 kilos of illegal Marijuana products, 31 firearms, and $311,601 in US currency. Three arrests were also made.
Arrested were Fadhel Al Abdi, Fadhl Al Abdi and Wesam Al Barati. Fadhel Al Abdi was charged with Felony Conspiracy and six counts of Maintaining a Place for Purposes of Keeping and Selling a Controlled Substance. Fadhl Al Abdi was charged with Felony Conspiracy and six counts of Maintaining a Place for Purposes of Keeping and Selling a Controlled Substance.
Wesam Al Barati was charged with Trafficking in Marijuana, Conspire to Traffic Marijuana, and Maintaining a Place for Purposes of Keeping and Selling a Controlled Substance.
Chief Braden of the Fayetteville Police Department will now speak about the part of the investigation that led to those arrests and charges- Chief Braden.
This was a joint investigation involving multiple task force agencies and with the coordination of the agency heads.
The investigation is still ongoing and more arrests will be made and charges filed. Information regarding those arrests and charges will be released at another press conference on a later date.
The illegal Marijuana products sold at these stores are extremely dangerous and can result in long term health issues for users. Most of these products come from China where they are illegal and banned due to the dangers they present.
The owners of these vape shops are putting profit ahead of the safety of their customers and community members.
We will now hear from Robeson County District Attorney Matthew Scott who requested assistance from the task force to address this important safety concern. – District Attorney Scott.
This investigation was also supported by Cumberland County District Attorney William West—District Attorney West.
