AO 9l (Rer Il,l I) Crimrnal CoDplaint

UmrEo Srerps Drsrrucr Counrfor the

District of Columbia

United States of Americav.

SIRAJ ISSADOB: 09/'l 8/1 981 -PDID: 7 07 -123

Case No

in the

Offe se Description

did unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distributea mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of[1 -(5-FLUORO-PENTYL)l H-TNDOL-3-YL](2,2,3,3TETRAMETHYLCYCLOPROPYL)IVIETHANONE, also known asXLR-1 1, a Schedule I controlled substance.

Code Section

21 U.S.C. S 8a1(aX1) and841(bX1 XC)

'l'his crirninal complaint is bascd on these f'acts

SEE ATTACHED STATEMENT OF FACTS

d Contintrecl on rhe attached sheet.

Sworn to before me and signed in m5, presence

[)a1e:

YENEWORK TEFERA ABERADOB: 9/2311 973-PDtO. 7 07 -1 20

Delndantls)

I, Ihe complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

On or about the date(s) of SEPTEN4BER ,1

, 2015 in the county of

District ol Columbia . the det'endant(s) violated

(:o rylai onr's sign1ture

VINCENT WITKOWSKI, Detective/MPDPtinted rume cud tille

.ludge s sigtlot rc

G. MICHAEL HARVEY, Magistrate JudgeCity and state:

09to2t2015

Washington, D.CPrinted nane atd title

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

)))))))

STATEMENT OF FACLi

This case arises from the joint eflbrts of the Maryland State Police, the Metropolitan AreaDrug Task Force, Horneland Securitv Investigations, and the Metropolitan Police Deparhlent.On or about August 27, 2015, members of the Maryland State Police and Metropolitan AreaDrug Task Force were conducting proactive drug trafficking interdiction efforts at a shippingcompany in Howard County. Maryland. They observed a large wooden pallet containingnumerous boxes that rvere wrapped in clear plastic wrap on the shipping floor (hereinafter the

"shipment"). The shipment was designated for delivery at a commercial storage facility inNorthwest. Washington, D.C. A police dog alerted to the potential presence of illicit substances

nhile conducting a scan of the shipment, and a melnber of the task force obtained a search

warrant to examine the shipment. The search warrant was executed, and ofllcers discovered that

the shipment contained thirteen (13) large brorvn cardboard boxes and one (1) large rvhite

cardboard box. each containing large plastic bags, rvhich in tum contained numerous blackpackets labeled "Bizarro" in assorted-size packets. In your alliant's experience, "Bizarro" is a

packaging name that has been used for illegal synthetic cannabinoid products seized within the

District of Columbia on previous occasions by the Metropolitan Police Departrnent.

On or about August 28,20J5, a Metropolitan Police Department Task Force Officerretrieved a sample packet of "Bizarro'' that was contained within the boxes. At this time one l0gram packet of "Bizarro" was randomly removed from a box contained in the shipment(hereinafter "shiprnent sample"). This shipment sample contained a green plant material. and

was taken to a laboratory ofthe Bureau of Customs and Border Protection 1br testing. Later that

day. the officer rvas infbrmed by the lab that preliminary screening of the shipment sample rvas

complete. indicating that the shipment sample contained a detectable amotrnt of XLR- I 1 , a

Schedule I controlled substance under iederal larv.

On September 1.2015. larv enforcement made a controlled delivery of the shipment to

the storage facilitv in Northwest, Washington. D.C. During this operation. def'endant

YENEWORK TEFERA ABERA drove a red and gray minivan into the parking lot of the storage

facility complex. Defendant SIRAJ ISSA was in the passenger seat. An undercover officerapproached the passenger side ofthe van. After a brief conversation, the undercover of'ficer leftthe van and then returned, and del-endant ISSA signed the delivery receipt fbr the shipment.Defendant ISSA then exited the vehicle, entered the office area of the storage complex, andreturned outside while pulling two hand carts. After removal of the shrink-wrap, detbndantsABERA and ISSA then began loading the handcarts with the l4 boxes ol-the shipment.

At that point, both defendants then took the two hand carts into a diffbrent building of the

complex than the building originally designated on the shipping label. Law enforcement lostsight ofthe defendants for a brief time. Within minutes, law enforcement observed defendantsISSA and ABERA r.vithin the building. placing boxes from the two handcarts inlo storage unit#2027. which is on the second floor of the building. Other than law enforcement, the twodefendants were the only individuals observed on the second tloor. An undercover officer then

briefly left the area. and while rvithin earshot heard the sound ofthe unit's gate closing. Withinmoments, law enforcement stopped both defendants near an elevator on the second floor rvhilethey were in possession ofthe two empty hand carts.

During a search incident to arrest, a key-ring was recovered from delendant ISSA's

person. Law enforcement determined that one ofthe keys on the ring fit the lock to unit #2027

6y using it to unlock and then lock the lock rvithout opening the storage door. The unit was then

made secure. and a search warrarlt was obtained.

The search warrant lor Unit #2027 was execuled. The search revealed all l4 boxes ofthe

shipment were contained within Unit #2027. Furthermore, larv enforcement observed that one ofthe boxes had been partially opened at the top, revealing packets of "Bizarro" contained rvithin.

Given that these boxes had been tully taped and closed prior to the controlled delivery. your

alfiant believes that the delendants observed the contents of the shipment before locking Unit

#2027.

In addition to the l4 boxes ofthe shipment, the search of Unit #2027 also revealed three

empty boxes within the unit. Two ofthe boxes appeared to be consistent with the boxes oftheshipment, inasmuch as the boxes appeared to be ofthe same kind ofgrade ofcardboard and were

similarly taped with the same colored packing tape. ln addition. on the floor of Unit #2027, law

enfbrcement discovered a printed packing Iabel with handwriting. The handwriting indicated.

among other things, a date of "312012013." the "night" shift, the word "strawberry," and a size of"3.5g." and a quantity of"100." Based upon my training and experience. vour affiant believes

that this label refers to a previous shipment of suspected Bizarro packets of a strawberry flavor in

3.5 gram sizes, and that in combination rvith the empty boxes. this is indicia of Unit #2027

having been used for the storage of illegal synthetic cannabinoid products on at least one

previous occasion.

After arrest and upon waiving his Miranda rights, defendant ABERA spoke to law

enforcement. Among other things, defendant ABERA said that on several previous occasions

within the past two to five months, he had come to the storage facility complex and received

black trash bags from defendant ISSA, which defendant ABERA would then distribute to variouspersons located at various street corners within Washington, D.C., in return for monetarycompensation from defendant ISSA. Defendant ABERA indicated that he had received up to

$200 for making a single delivery. Defendant ABERA claimed that he thought the black bags

contained hair product or other dollar store items.

The aforementioned shipment lvas subsequently inventoried by larv enforcement. Thatinventory detennined that the shipment consisted of 19,247 individual Bizarro packets. Eachpacket was labeled with a repofted weight. and there were two "sizes" present: 3.5 grams and l0grams. Based on the packaging labels, the total net weight of the shipment (absent the boxes,pallet. and other packaging) was approximately 116.498 kilograms, or approximately 265.61pounds.

DETECTIVE VINCENT WITKOWSKIMETROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

SWORN AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME ON THE DAY OF SEPTEMBER.20I5

U.S. MAGIS'I'RA]'E JUDGI] G. MI(]HALL IIARVEY