Hadi Sharairi, 45, of Coralville, Iowa, former owner of the Iowa City head shop Zombies, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids to one count of conspiring to distribute synthetic drugs AB-FUBINACA and THJ-2201 between February and May 2014. The substances, both classified as controlled under federal law during that period, are potent chemical cousins of marijuana known to cause severe health reactions, including psychosis and cardiac distress.
Sharairi’s guilty plea follows years of investigation tied to a sweeping DEA crackdown known as Project Synergy Phase II. On May 7, 2014, law enforcement raided Zombies and a linked storage unit, seizing packages labeled “Bizarro” containing THJ-2201 and “Super Nova” laced with AB-FUBINACA. Both products were marketed as incense or herbal blends but were, in fact, ready-to-sell synthetic cannabinoids designed to mimic the effects of THC.
Despite a formal warning from the Iowa City Police Department in June 2013 to stop selling synthetic cannabinoid products—commonly known as “K2” or “Spice”—Sharairi continued distributing the dangerous substances. Evidence presented at a June 21, 2016 hearing confirmed that the operation was not a retail oversight but a deliberate, ongoing distribution scheme that fed into a broader national drug trade.
Project Synergy Phase II, launched in January 2014, spanned 29 states and involved over 45 DEA offices. On the day of the takedown, authorities executed nearly 200 search warrants, seizing hundreds of thousands of ready-to-sell synthetic drug packets, hundreds of kilograms of raw product, and more than $20 million in cash and assets. Sharairi’s business and personal properties were among dozens targeted in the coordinated assault on synthetic drug networks.
Following his guilty plea, Sharairi was taken into custody by the United States Marshal and will remain jailed until sentencing. Chief U.S. District Judge Leonard T. Strand will determine his punishment after a presentence report is completed. Sharairi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and up to a lifetime of supervised release post-incarceration.
The investigation was a joint effort by the Iowa City Police Department and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), with support from the DEA, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Rapids and Marion Police Departments, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham is prosecuting the case, filed under 16-CR-48-1-LTS. Court records are available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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