SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) – A federal judge has put the leader of a large, Utah-based drug trafficking organization behind bars, according to a press release from the U.S. Dept. of Justice.
In October, a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City reportedly returned a 15-count indictment charging multiple people, including foreign nationals, with drug-related offenses. These offenses involved synthetic drugs, commonly known as “bath salts.”
If convicted, these individuals would reportedly forfeit “millions of dollars in cash, bank accounts, property and other assets,” the release states.
The judge says that Jaafar Altalibi, 40, was detained partly because of “the significant role defendant played in distributing highly toxic substances throughout the community for approximately a decade,” the release states.
Court documents show that the following people/businesses have been charged with a number of drug-related offenses:
- Jaafar Altalibi, 40, Salt Lake County
- Mountazar Altalibi, 34, Salt Lake County
- Haydar Altalibi, 43; Salt Lake County
- David Lovato, 42, Salt Lake County
- Allen Jervis, 54, Salt Lake County
- Hannah Taylor, 26, Salt Lake County
- Samantha Barber, 39, Salt Lake County
- Roble Abdinoor, 42, Seattle, Washington
- Faris Musa, 30, Salt Lake County
- Hussein Alsalemi, 39, Salt Lake County
- Khadim Musa, 31, Salt Lake County
- Martinus De Koning, a foreign national
- Smokers Haven J, LLC
- Lake City Auto Sales, LLC
Included in some of these charges are serious offenses of conspiracy to distribute schedule I controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, unlawful importation, and more.
If some of these defendants are convicted, the release states that property involved in the criminal enterprise will be forfeited to law enforcement, including “seven real estate properties; six bank accounts; all vehicles parked at an involved business; four additional vehicles to include a 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE, 2022 Cadillac Escalade, 2017 Landrover Range Rover Sport, and a 2017 Lexus GS350; other luxury items, multiple residences, and two businesses.”
The announcement from U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah comes shortly after seven people were arrested in an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of Utah and Salt Lake Counties. This organization, however, was involved primarily in the distribution of methamphetamine and heroin.
Multiple agencies participated in the investigation, including the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force, Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake/Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, West Valley City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Utah Department of Public Safety, Tooele Police Department, Sandy Police Department, South Jordan Police Department, Murray Police Department, Salt Lake City Police Department, Park City Police Department, and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
