SALT LAKE CITY — Two brothers out of Salt Lake County have been sentenced to 96 months [8 years] of imprisonment and three years of supervised release following their conviction in a large drug trafficking scheme.
Mountazar Altalibi, 36, and Jaafar Altalibi, 44, were sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart.
According to court documents, beginning in May 2020 through August 17, 2022, Mountazar and Jaafar imported and received "bath salts" from a foreign supplier and sold them to others for profit. Prosecutors also accused the brothers of distributing the "bath salts" to each other and coconspirators, many of whom have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Mountazar and Jaafar Altalibi further admitted that between November 2011 and August 2022, they assisted in the money laundering of drug proceeds by receiving cash from customers and supplying them with “bath salts.”
Investigators claim that the brothers would reinvest the proceeds from their scheme to finance their lifestyle and homes. Jaafar also paid for and supplied his business, Smokers Haven, with the drug profits.
“Protecting our communities and prosecuting drug traffickers is a priority of this administration and my office,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “Criminals who import and distribute bath salts or any other type of illegal and deadly substance will be held accountable.”
The Altalibi brothers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute α-Pyrrolidinohexanophenone (α-PHP), commonly referred to as "bath salts", and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In addition to the prison sentences and supervised release, the court has ordered the Altalibi brothers to forfeit millions of dollars in assets, including multiple residential and commercial properties, vehicles, businesses, jewelry, and other high-end personal property.
