Three men in custody after early morning drug raid

Gadsden, Al.
A man who allegedly was selling illegal bath salts from the store where he worked was arrested Friday in an early morning raid at a house on Madison Avenue in Gadsden.

Muneer Q. Abdulah

Muneer Q. Abdulah, 27, was charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance for the bath salts, Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit Commander Rob Savage said.

Abdulah’s arrest came after a recent investigation into the illegal sale of bath salts, blamed in several deaths and declared illegal earlier this year.

During the investigation, packets of bath salts were discovered that were similar to the packets found when a man committed suicide in August, Savage said.

The Joint Special Operations Group SWAT team moved in, using the group’s armored vehicle, just before 6 a.m. Friday at the house just off Forrest Avenue near the Attalla city limits.

Abdulah was taken into custody on the warrant for drug distribution, and two other men inside the house — Yassen Saleh Muflahi, 25, and Mohamed Ali Muflahi, 24, — also were taken into custody for obstructing a government operation. A loaded automatic handgun was found within Abdulah’s reach at the time of his arrest.

As soon as the three men were in custody, members of JSOG and agents with the Drug Enforcement Unit began a search of the house, but soon backed out after an unknown powder believed to be related to explosives was found.

The Gadsden Police Department’s bomb squad was called and the powder was placed in a special container. It will be sent to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for analysis, Gadsden Police Sgt. Tom Bradley said.