CPSO: Year-long investigation yields arrests, drugs, cash
SHREVEPORT, La. -- After a year-long investigation into suspected illegal narcotics trafficking, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested two men and seized a large quantity of drugs and over $318,000 in cash, Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. said Thursday in a news release.
SHREVEPORT, La. -- After a year-long investigation into suspected illegal narcotics trafficking, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested two men and seized a large quantity of drugs and over $318,000 in cash, Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. said Thursday in a news release.
The investigation began when the narcotics unit received tips about alleged illegal activities at Elsie's Auto and Truck Plaza on Highway 1 in Shreveport. Detectives allege the business manager, Arshad Bhimani, sold concealed kratom products to customers, hiding them in a back room to avoid detection.
Search warrants were approved for Elsie's Auto and Truck Plaza and a house on Waterbury Drive in Bossier City.
The searches resulted in the seizure of various illegal substances, including:
- 1,080 pills of 7-Hydroxymitragynine
- 450 dosage units of 7 Star
- 210 dosage units of Pressed
- 293 dosage units of O.P.M.S.
- 36 ounces of UPass synthetic urine
- 1,530 mL of O.P.M.S. Liquid
- 24 dosage units of ON7
- 27 grams of 1836 Kratom
- Two Hydroxie packs
Bhimani, 39, was arrested in Caddo Parish and booked in at the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, where he was charged with two counts of manufacturing/distributing a Schedule I substance, one count of possession of a Schedule I substance with intent to distribute, and one count of unlawfully supplying a product for the purpose of falsifying a screening test.
Karim Merchant, 65, was arrested in Bossier City and charged with possession with intent to distribute.
The investigation continues.