Feds: UHV professor aided $35M drug ring
Victoria campus finance instructor one of 16 charged
Sixteen people — including a popular University of Houston-Victoria professor — have been charged in a sweeping federal indictment alleging a $35 million international operation that manufactured and distributed at least 9.5 tons of a drug sold on the street as kush or ‘synthetic marijuana.’
The indictment, announced Tuesday by federal, state and local law enforcement officials, is the result of a four-year, multiagency investigation targeting one of the largest known synthetic chemical trafficking groups, said U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson.
Magidson said unregulated synthetic chemicals sold as drugs have “become one of the most dangerous emerging public health threats in the United States.”
Aimed at youths
Much of the product is targeted to juveniles, with cartoon packaging including Sponge Bob, Scooby Doo and Pokemon, and special flavors like blueberry. Known as kush, spice, K2 or synthetic marijuana — a term that doctors say is technically incorrect — it’s made by spraying chemicals on plant material to mimic marijuana.
The chemicals used may trigger dangerous effects, leading to overdose and sometimes death, officials said. Ben Taub General Hospital sees about four to five emergency admissions a day and a handful of deaths each year related to the synthetic drugs, officials said.
The drugs in this case were seized in various locations over several years, officials said. A federal grand jury in Houston handed down a sealed indictment April 28 in the alleged scheme.
Twelve people have been arrested, and two others have indicated they will surrender to authorities. Two of the people indicted remain fugitives, federal authorities said.
Among those arrested is Omar Maher Alnasser, 36, of Houston, an assistant professor of finance at the Sugar Land campus of the University of Houston Victoria. He is accused of illegally moving the proceeds of drug sales to bank accounts outside the U.S. beginning in 2014. He is charged with conspiracy to launder money and with aiding and abetting an unlicensed money-transmitting business; he could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Alnasser’s work as a professor received rave reviews from colleagues and students on LinkedIn and Rate My Professors. He is scheduled to teach a 10-week financial management course at the Sugar Land campus starting May 31.
Paula Cobler, a UHV spokeswoman, said the institution “takes this matter very seriously and will fully cooperate with law enforcement on all aspects of their investigation.”
She added that “as more information becomes available, UHV officials will consider action appropriate to the situation.”
Also charged in the 13-count indictment are six Houston men: Salem Fahed Tannous, 55; Ali Shaker Tafesh, 35; Khalil Munier Khalil, 40; Nagy Mahmoud Ali, 59; Mohammed Rafat Taha, 27; and Steve Shafiq Amira, 58; and Sugar Land residents Muhammad Shariq Siddiqi, 45; Ayisha Khurram, 40; and Sayed Ali, 41. Others arrested were Abdalnour Izz, 31, of Missouri City, and Hazim Hisham Qadus, 31, of South Houston.
Khader Fahed Tanous, 49, of Stephens City, Va., and Frank Muratalla, 23, of Hawthorne, Calif., have told federal officials they plan to surrender.
Authorities are seeking the arrest of Ziad Mahmoud Alsalameh, 56, of Pearland, and Aqil Khader, 33, of Houston. Magidson said federal authorities believe they live abroad.
‘All sorts of junk’
In cases like this Dr. Spencer Greene, director of medical toxicology at Baylor College of Medicine and attending emergency physician at Ben Taub, said there may be hundreds of different cannabinoids, with wildly varying effects. Scientists have not made consistent findings about the drug’s components.
“There’s all sorts of junk that you find mixed into this,” he said.
If the chemicals include benzodiazepines such as Valium or Xanax, the patient might “be out of it” or could stop breathing, Greene said. If they include stimulants, they could cause increased heart rates, high blood pressure, strokes or seizures.