United States Drug Enforcement Administration

GULFPORT, Miss. - Rasheed Ali Muhammad, 42, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced to a total of 1,440 months in federal (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 (methylone, a-PVP and 4-MEC) and chemicals used in the manufacture of (AM2201), announced Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis with the Southern District of Mississippi.  Muhammad was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and restitution of $121,425.61 to United Parcel Service.

            “The manufacture, sale, and abuse of synthetic drugs signifies a clear danger to our society.  These synthetic substances are designed and manufactured with no controls on the safety of the substance, and no goal other than generating a more powerful high for the user, and a larger profit for the drug dealers who sell these dangerous drugs.  People who use these drugs are literally gambling with their lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown.  “This lengthy sentencing of Rasheed Ali Muhammad sends a clear message to all who  engage in the manufacture and distribution of synthetic drugs:  we will work together to see that anyone involved in spreading this poison in our communities and endangering the lives our young people are brought to justice.  “ 

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, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute. 

In April 2014, Muhammad and Chapman were indicted in the Southern District of Mississippi for conspiring with others known and unknown to the grand jury to possess with intent to distribute bath (methylone, a-PVP and 4-MEC) and chemicals used in the manufacture of (AM2201). 

In January 2015, Muhammad was brought to trial in the Southern District of Mississippi on (counts) involving Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute synthetic narcotics.  After a five day trial in U.S. District Court in Gulfport, Muhammad was found guilty by a jury on six of the eight count indictment.  

On January 29, 2015, Chapman appeared before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden in the Southern District of Mississippi and was sentenced to 199 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.  Chapman was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and a $100 special assessment fee.

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.

Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.