Lower Burrell police filed drug-related charges against five people following a yearslong, undercover investigation into three vape shops in the city.
Those charged are: Hussain M. Almerdaie, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Maulik H. Thakkar, 43, of Mars; Qasem A. Almardeai, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Baldwiner Singh, 54, of Monroeville; and Asad Faiz, 38, of Monroeville.
According to criminal complaints, Lower Burrell police and detectives from other area police departments have been investigating several local vape shops undercover since 2024.
That year, undercover officers made a series of controlled buys at Discount Vape and More in the Hillcrest Shopping Center; Burrell Tobacco and Vape, 3087 Leechburg Road; and a convenience store at 2700 Leechburg Road that used to be a gas station, according to authorities.
Search warrants were executed at the three businesses Oct. 25, 2024.
Products purchased by undercover officers at Discount Vape and More contained marijuana, psilocyn, Delta 8-THC and Delta-9-THC with a concentration greater than 0.3%, according to authorities.
Officers seized several products that were identified as Schedule I narcotics that were in display cases, concealed in bags in a closet and contained in jars, the complaint said.
Faiz and Singh were identified as the owners of Discount Vape and More, the complaint said.
Items seized from the convenience store at 2700 Leechburg Road included marijuana, Delta 8-THC and Delta 9-THC products with a concentration greater than 0.3%, the complaint said.
Thakkar was identified as the owner of that store, the complaint said.
A search warrant at Burrell Tobacco and Vape found products containing THC that are illegal to be sold in the state, the complaint said.
Almardeai and Almardaie were charged in connection to that investigation.
All five have preliminary hearings April 7 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.
