35 St. Louis (Muslim) Convenience Store Owners Indicted in Federal Raids

Thirty-five St. Louis convenience store owners were arrested in federal raids this week.

The store owners were arrested for trafficking contraband cigarettes to Chicago and New Jersey markets.
KMOV reported:

A federal grand jury has indicted 35 store owners on federal conspiracy charges for trafficking contraband cigarettes, distributing controlled substances and money laundering.

According to reports, the suspects conspired for more than 2 years to buy contraband cigarettes in St. Louis, a low tax market, while transporting and distributing them in Chicago, Illinois, and New Jersey, which are high tax markets.

The store owners are accused of using several convenience stores that they operated to create the appearance of legal cigarette purchases.

Illegal profits form the contraband cigarette sales were laundered through accounts associated with the stores.

Synethetic drugs, K-2, was sold every day from a handful of the convenience stores. Authorities said the store owners manufactured synthetic drugs themselves by importing chemicals from China.

“The collaboration with our federal and local law enforcement partners is the key to breaking criminal enterprises in this area,” said Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons of HSI Chicago…

…The list of defendants include:

Mohammed Almuttan, aka Abu Ali, 35, St. Louis, MO
Rami Almuttan, aka Abu Louay, 33, St. Louis, MO
Hisham Mutan, aka Abu Mohamed, 41, St. Louis, MO
Saddam Mutan, aka Abu Ali, 24, St. Louis, MO
Mazin Abdelsalam, aka Abu Mohammad, 38, St. Louis, MO
Najeh Muhana, aka Abu Yazan, 41, Fairview, NJ
Fares Muhana, aka Abu Yamama, 40, Cliffside Park, NJ
Ayoub Qaiymah, aka Abu Faysal, 23, Richmond, VA
Naser Abid, 23, Chicago, IL
Yadgar Barzanji, aka Abu Siver, 47, St. Louis, MO
Wafaa Alwan, 50, St. Louis, MO
Ahmed Abuali, aka Bazilla, 31, North Bergen, NJ
Mohammed Kayed, aka Mohammed Fayez, 21, Clifton, NJ
Momen Abuali, 20, Little Ferry, NJ
Firat Sevindik, 42, Cliffside Park, NJ
Mohammed Mustafa, 30, North Bergen, NJ
Mohammad Karashqah, Abu Yazid, 47, North Bergen, NJ
Fayez Sheikha, 46, Mishawaka, IN
Jihad Shihadeh, Abu Malik, 58, Chicago Ridge, IL
Ismael Abadi, 57, Carol Stream, IL
Abed Hamed, Abed Fawzan, 39, Greenville, NC
Maher Hamed, Abu Alazara, 33, Swansea, IL
Abdel Adi, 25, Oak Lawn, IL
Muhanad Khatib, Abu Alamin, 36, Chicago, IL
Eyad Awad, 38, Chicago, IL
Dale Garbin, 60, Kankakee, IL
Hayder Al Fatli, 40, St. Louis, MO
Kutlay Guvener, 35, Chicago, IL
Saad Al Mallak, 30, Dittmer, MO
Hassan Abdelatif, 29, Collinsville, IL
Mahajir Naz, 32, St. Louis, MO
Talal Abuajaj, 23, St. Louis, MO
Basem Hamdan, aka Abu Ramiz, 57, St. Louis, MO
Zainal Saleh, 29, St. Louis, MO and
Ibrahim Awad, 39, St. Louis, MO

Dear Reader - The enemies of freedom are choking off the Gateway Pundit from the resources we need to bring you the truth. Since many asked for it, we now have a way for you to support The Gateway Pundit directly - and get ad-reduced access. Plus, there are goodies like a special Gateway Pundit coffee mug for supporters at a higher level. You can see all the options by clicking here - thank you for your support!
Photo of author
Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

You can email Jim Hoft here, and read more of Jim Hoft's articles here.

 

Thanks for sharing!