CLEVELAND – An Ohio man and woman will now face prison time for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned from Texas to Ohio, using a storefront in Fairview Park as a lab, to manufacture illegal drugs soaked onto paper and smuggled into prisons.
Judge Dan Aaron Polster sentenced Thaer Mustafa, 41, of North Olmsted, to 120 months (10 years) in prison, and Elyssia Sanabria, 26, of LaGrange, Ohio, to 70 months (5.8 years) in prison, after they pleaded guilty in April to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances.
During a federal investigation into suspected illegal drug activity, Mustafa and Sanabria were identified for sourcing controlled substances to use in paper-soaking laboratories. During a search warrant executed at an apartment in Cleveland, agents caught Mustafa and Sanabria retrieving bags of cocaine and emptying the contents into the toilet. They also located powder, reams of soaking paper, and a gas mask. Another search conducted at a storefront in Fairview Park revealed bulk amounts of chemicals and equipment known to law enforcement for being used in the production of drug-soaked paper for distribution in prisons.
In total, federal investigators seized kilograms of controlled substances, and $300,000 in cash. Investigators also seized multiple firearms that were connected to the drug operation.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA Detroit Division’s Cleveland Field Office, FBI Cleveland Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Cleveland and Newark offices, DEA San Antonio, and the FBI Laredo Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Segev Philips led the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.