Anwar, Saeed Get 40+ Years for Synthetic Drug Empire

Two men who ran a sprawling synthetic drug pipeline across the Midwest, flooding convenience stores with millions of grams of lethal “spice” labeled “not for human consumption,” were sentenced today to a combined 40 years behind bars. Muhammad Anwar, 50, of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Ahmad Saeed, 50, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were key wholesalers in a shadow network that turned fake pot into real profit—until federal agents shut them down.

Anwar was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison after a jury convicted him in October 2015 of conspiring to distribute controlled substances and conspiring to commit money laundering. Saeed, who pleaded guilty to the same charges in September 2015, received 210 months. Both men were ordered to forfeit $750,000 in drug proceeds, pay a $200 special assessment, and serve three years of supervised release after their sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.

From 2009 onward, Saeed began sourcing synthetic drugs to supply stores in Oklahoma, Iowa, and Missouri. By 2011, he and Anwar had built a machine: over a three-year span, they bought and redistributed more than 7 million grams of spice products. Despite packaging that claimed the drugs were “not for human consumption,” witnesses and evidence proved both men knew users were smoking them—knowing full well the risks of psychosis, seizures, and death.

The sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge John A. Jarvey in Cedar Rapids, marks a major win in the federal crackdown on synthetic drug networks. The case unfolded amid Project Synergy, a global takedown led by the DEA’s Special Operations Division that spanned five countries and 35 U.S. states. Between December 2012 and June 2014, authorities made 227 arrests, served 416 search warrants, and seized over $51 million in assets—including 9,445 kilograms of synthetic drugs.

Project Synergy also netted 299 kilograms of cathinone (“bath salts”), 1,252 kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids, and 783 kilograms of treated plant material used to lace fake pot. Agencies involved included the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the IRS, and law enforcement from Australia, Barbados, Panama, and Canada. State and local forces from Iowa’s narcotics and criminal investigation divisions played key roles on the ground.

The investigation was conducted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a DOJ initiative targeting high-level drug traffickers. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham. Anwar and Saeed are currently in U.S. Marshals custody, awaiting transfer to federal prison. Court records are available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.