CULLMAN – Cullman City Police Department investigators on Thursday executed two search warrants in relation to a month-long undercover drug investigation led by Officers Chris Thomason and Justin Craft. The officers arrested Mohammed Hizam Nasser Ali, 24, and charged him with unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
The first search warrant was executed at Cullman Village Apartments located on Ward Avenue in Cullman. Investigators seized over 200 packages of kratom, a controlled substance recently banned in the state of Alabama by the State Legislature. Also seized were approximately $2,000 in cash and a 2006 Ford Freestyle, which investigators had observed being used in the commission of a crime during the undercover investigation. Ali was present at the apartment at the time the search warrant was executed and was a suspect in the ongoing undercover investigation.
A second search warrant was then executed at Jet Pep located at 1608 Fourth St. SW in Cullman. More Kratom was discovered at this location. Also seized was approximately $57,000 in cash. During the course of the investigation, Ali, an employee of the Jet Pep, was discovered to be selling the illegal substance from the business. Undercover officers purchased the illegal substance from Ali on multiple occasions. Money used by officers to make the purchases was discovered in both the apartment and the business.
After law enforcement consulted with Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock on Friday, Ali was also charged with five counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and five counts of attempting to commit a controlled substance crime.
Ali is being held in the Cullman County Detention Center. His bond has yet to be set by the District Court.
"I would like to personally thank investigators Craft and Thomason for their efforts, as well as all of the Investigation Division. This was a very time-consuming case to make and investigators will be doing follow-up work for a number of days," said CPD Capt. Becky Boyd.
The CPD encourages any person who has information on illegal drug activity to contact them at 256-775-7170.
