United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FORT SMITH — On August 6, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas ordered $180,886 in cash seized from three Nashville men to be forfeited to the United States, upholding a civil complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The complaint, filed on Jan. 31, 2024, alleged that the funds, seized in an Arkansas State Police traffic stop, should be forfeited because they were the proceeds of or were involved in drug crimes.

According to court documents, this case began the afternoon of Jan. 17, 2023, when an Arkansas State Police trooper stopped a gray Nissan Armada for a traffic violation as it traveled westbound on I-40 in Crawford County, close to the Oklahoma state line. During the stop, the Nissan’s three occupants were visibly nervous and made inconsistent and contradictory statements about where they were going and what they planned to do. All three denied having any drugs or large amounts of cash in the vehicle.  

However, 13 minutes after the initial stop, certified police canine “Beau” arrived on the scene, and in an “open air sniff” alerted on the vehicle—indicating the odor of illegal drugs. During the subsequent probable cause search, Arkansas troopers found two semi-automatic handguns, one of which had been reported stolen, personal-use quantities of illegal drugs and $180,886 in cash—most of it bundled for ease of counting. The driver, Shapour Saberi, and his two passengers, Redeer Ali Haji and Aryan Rasul Ibrahim, were arrested by the troopers and interviewed by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The guns, drugs and cash, along with seven cell phones, were seized from them as evidence.

Further investigation by the DEA revealed that Saberi, Haji and Ibrahim operated a thriving mail-order drug business in which they solicited customers to order high-grade marijuana and marijuana “edibles” through Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Customers placed their orders and paid for the orders in advance. Once a customer’s payment was received, often another co-conspirator in California would send that customer’s order by way of a common carrier such as UPS or FedEx, or via the U.S. Postal Service. On other occasions, the three transported the high-grade marijuana and edibles from California to Tennessee using common carriers and, on at least one occasion, a rented cargo van filled with trash bags full of marijuana.

The three individuals also memorialized many aspects of their illegal enterprise on their cell phones, which contained pictures of internet advertisements for known strains of high-grade marijuana, close-ups displaying the marijuana, pictures of price lists for known strains of high-grade marijuana and marijuana edibles, photos of packages and mailing labels, records of conversations with customers and suppliers, photos of drug ledgers, text exchanges with co-conspirators that included arguments over business matters and selfies taken by all three subjects.

Significantly, one of Ibrahim’s phones had photos of drug ledgers that included one dated “1/15.” In this photograph, the total profit shown on the drug ledger was $178,450—only $2,436 less than the amount seized from Saberi, Haji and Ibrahim on their Jan. 17, 2023, road trip.

According to court papers, Saberi, Haji and Ibrahim filed administrative claims with the DEA seeking the return of their seized funds, alleging “ownership of the assets were obtained legally without felonious conduct,” and claiming most of the cash came from car sales rather than drug distribution. However, once the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a formal complaint for civil forfeiture of the funds, complete with pictures of evidence gathered in the investigation, none of the subjects chose to challenge the forfeiture in court. Under the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program, the funds—now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service—will be used to compensate crime victims, support law enforcement efforts, and support communities.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Arkansas State Police investigated the case. The U.S. Marshals Service manages the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich civilly prosecuted the case for the United States.

The Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program

The Asset Forfeiture Program was created in 1984 when Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which provided federal prosecutors and agents the legal and regulatory tools necessary to keep up with, and ahead of, those who commit crime for economic benefit. The U.S. Marshals Service plays a critical role in identifying and evaluating assets that represent the proceeds of crime as well as efficiently managing and selling assets seized and forfeited by Department of Justice.

The Marshals manage a wide array of assets including real estate, commercial businesses, cash, financial instruments, vehicles, jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles, vessels and aircraft. Proceeds generated from asset sales are used to operate the program, compensate victims and support various law enforcement efforts.  The Marshals manage the distribution of proceeds and payments to victims of crime and other innocent third parties, all of which helps to mitigate the financial damage inflicted by criminal activity. The agency employs best practices from private industry to ensure that assets are managed and sold in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The Asset Forfeiture Program also supports communities by transferring certain types of forfeited assets to state, local and nonprofit organizations. Through the Operation Goodwill program, forfeited real or personal property of marginal value can be transferred to state or local governments in support of drug abuse treatment, drug crime prevention and education, housing, job skills and other community-based public health and safety programs.

Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.