St. Joseph Man, Two California Men Indicted for Synthetic Marijuana Conspiracy

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a St. Joseph, Mo., man is among three defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoid products, also known as K2.

Shakeel Khan, 36, of St. Joseph, Mohammed Saleem, 40, of Diamond Back, Calif., and Asif Saddiq, 56, of Fullerton, Calif., were charged in a three-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on April 30, 2014. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of the defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that Khan, Saleem and Saddiq participated in a conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoid products, a controlled substance analogue, from March 1, 2011, to April 30, 2014.

Khan and Saleem are also charged together in one count of aiding and abetting each other to distribute synthetic marijuana labeled as “7H,” “777” and “Mr. Nice Guy.”

Khan and Saleem are also charged together in a money-laundering conspiracy in February 2014. The indictment alleges that Khan and Saleem conducted financial transactions that involved the proceeds of the alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy. Khan allegedly directed a confidential source to send him the $8,750 payment for 3,500 units of synthetic cannabinoids to the bank account of business listed as a wholesale clothing company with a mailing address in California. This address has been identified as the mailing address for Saleem’s secretary/manager. Khan is not a signer on the account. A withdrawal of $7,500 in cash was made at a bank branch in California on the same day.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.