A Connecticut man was recently sentenced to 20 years in jail for smuggling illegal drugs from China to Virginia.
Hatem Salem, 56, of Shelton, Conn., was sentenced in Alexandria federal court last Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Salem, who pleaded guilty to various charges earlier this year, was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, conspiracy to import GBL with intent to produce GHB, and concealing laundering.
According to prosecutors, in May 2024, law police discovered that Salem was smuggling GBL from China into Virginia. GBL is a predecessor to the “date-rape” drug, GHB.
Between August 2024 and this January, detectives made five controlled purchases of various controlled narcotics from Salem. These allegedly included cocaine, ketamine, MDMA, and more than 100 grams of methamphetamine.
On January 30, police enforcement officers raided Salem’s home in Shelton, Connecticut.
Prosecutors said they discovered 151 grams of meth, 626 grams of cocaine, varied amounts of ketamine, MDMA, and LSD, bottles containing GBL and GHB, and 157 cartons holding about 1,200 liters of suspected GBL.
Salem pleaded guilty and admitted that the importation scheme involved over 2,000 liters of GBL.
Furthermore, authorities say they discovered a covert lab in Salem’s shed that contained drugs and equipment for producing GHB.
A financial investigator also discovered that Salem employed complex transactions between corporations and personal bank accounts to conceal or obscure the earnings of his narcotics sales.
Investigators reportedly recovered assets related to Salem’s drug trafficking scheme, as well as property used for money laundering. This comprised around $370,000 in cash and $171,500 in bitcoin.
Prosecutors further point out that Salem is a repeat offender, with many prior federal convictions for narcotics charges.
Salem was convicted in 1999 of conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids, distributing anabolic steroids, and making false statements.
He was convicted of distributing GBL and GHB in 2005 while still on probation for his 1999 conviction.
Ten years later, in 2015, Salem was convicted of unlawfully importing GBL with the intent to create GHB.
