CONNECTICUT MAN SENTENCED TO 1,440 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE SPICE

Gulfport, Miss - Rasheed Ali Muhammad, age forty-two (42), of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced to a total of 1,440 months in federal prison (240 months on each of six counts) followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute bath salts (methylone, a-PVP and 4-MEC) and chemicals used in the manufacture of spice (AM2201), announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown. Muhammad was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and restitution of $121,425.61 to United Parcel Service.

In January, 2015, Muhammad was found guilty by a jury following a five day trial in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

From sometime in 2012, Muhammad was ordering chemicals to produce spice and bath salts from manufacturers in the People’s Republic of China and then marketing them for sale on websites in the United States. Muhammad was shipping these products through the use of fraudulent United Parcel Service accounts. His co-defendant, Roslyn Chapman from Gulfport, Mississippi, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ocean Springs and Gulfport Police Departments and the Connecticut State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie.