FBI raids Liberty Twp. home in probe

Federal BUTLER COUNTY — and local law enforcement officials served a search warrant at a Butler County home Thursday in connection with a stolen baby formula conspiracy case.

The FBI swarmed the home on Peakview Court in Liberty Twp. in the morning after three Butler County men were arrested and charged in connection to that investigation, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cincinnati. The Butler County Sheriff ’s Office assisted with serving the search warrant.

The men were identified as Khalil Yacub, 44, of Liberty Twp.; Khalil Jaghama of West Chester Twp.; and Jasser Saleh, 41, of Liberty Twp.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Yacub’s family owns and operates the convenience store The Pit Stop, at 2510 W. Galbraith Road in Colerain Twp.

Employees of the Pit Stop, including Yacub, Jaghama and Saleh, would allegedly pay individuals, many of them drug addicts, to work as “boosters” to steal baby formula.

The defendants would pay those boosters with cash from the convenience store register for the stolen formula, according to investigators. For example, boosters might sell cans of stolen baby formula to the Pit Stop for $5 per can. On June 30, 2018, alone, one woman brought 40 cans of baby formula to the Pit Stop to be sold, officials said.

Yacub would request “boosters” to steal Enfamil Premium Infant Formula Power, according to court documents.

On June 14 2018, Jaghama allegedly told a “booster” who received $50 for the stolen goods, “I need more, bring me more!” according to the affidavit. They referred to the formula as “milk.”

In order to combat the theft of baby formula, retailers often place stamps or stickers on containers sold in stores. A confidential person told investigators that when the stolen cans were purchased, the defendants used nail polish to remove the stamp in a process referred to as “cleaning the milk,” according to the court documents. Then the cans were placed in boxes for transport.

Before the defendants would purchase the stolen baby formula from boosters, they would often take a photo of the booster’s driver’s license or state identification in order to prevent the boosters from reporting co-conspirators to the police, officials said.

It is alleged that between 2017 and last month, the defendants stored and shipped hundreds of cans of baby formula for resale to other parts of the country. The defendants used a storage facility to warehouse the stolen goods, officials said.