Newport News, Va. – The owners of a Newport News business were arrested and charged with selling Spice on Monday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Nader Abdallah, 54, and Sharif Abdallah, 31, were arrested on an indictment that charged them both with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of Controlled Substances and Controlled Substance Analogues (also known as Spice) and Making a False Statement.
The Abdallah’s owned, operated and controlled the Red Barn convenience store on Warwick Boulevard.
According to the indictment, since 2012, the Abdallah’s have been distributing Spice at their business. The indictment listed over 50 times parcels containing Spice were invoiced to Nader Abdallah.
Since early 2014, law enforcement officers have been able to make controlled purchases of Spice from the Red Barn store.
The store was raided back in September of 2014. Two people were arrested and a number of items, including Spice, were seized.
Nader and Sharif Abdallah each face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison if convicted. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Hampton Police Division, Newport News Police Department, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Virginia State Police, and the Virginia Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Task Force.
Federal agents were at several locations in Hampton and Newport News on Monday morning executing search warrants that are believed to be related to an investigation into spice.
Between April 11 and April 12, Hampton Police responded to six different locations due to spice overdoses. One woman died as a result. Since then, police have been investigating where the spice may have come from.
In October 2014, the Department of Homeland Security served warrants at two locations in Hampton as part of a larger investigation into spice.
It’s still unknown if the search warrants are in relation to any of these incidents.
Additional details will be posted as they become available.
