Man arrested, stores cited in illegal medication bust

Charlotte, N.C. — State agents have arrested a Georgia man for allegedly importing illegal prescription drugs from South America and selling them to unlicensed stores throughout North Carolina.

An investigation by the Charlotte office of the state Alcohol Law Enforcement division led to the arrest last week of Fawaz Mustafa Jobeh, of 5532 Blue Ceder Drive, in Sugar Hill, Ga., officials said Monday.

ALE agents said they developed information on Jobeh during a seven-month investigation of Hispanic convenience stores that they said were selling prescription medication without a license. Agents cited approximately 25 stores – including some in Raleigh – for that violation.

"This is just regular employees, regular employees selling medicine,” an unidentified ALE agent said.

Agents learned that the stores were obtaining the medications from a Georgia man and that the man would be in Rowan County last week.

ALE agents said they followed the man, and Cabarrus County sheriff's deputies stopped him.

Deputies arrested Jobeh after finding him in possession of $3,000 worth of illegal prescriptions and $3,600 in U.S. currency, ALE officials said. Jobeh has been released from the Cabarrus County Jail on a $20,000 bond.

ALE agents say that Jobeh acted as a supplier, smuggling the medication into California and then distributing it.

Throughout the investigation, agents recovered $21,000 worth of medications, including penicillin, amoxicillin, birth control pills and pain relievers.