Agents with the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force raided Cali Smokes on Dupree Street in Brownsville and a second location connected to the shop, leaving a Brownsville man behind bars.[1] The task force identified the store clerk as 40-year-old Yousef Al Baadani.[1] The case began after agents received complaints that the shop stored illegal substances in its back room and sold them over the counter.[1] An undercover agent asked to buy a product known to contain a high dose of kratom, and Al Baadani said the product was illegal before asking how many the agent wanted and bringing it from the rear storeroom.[1] The agent bought the product for $30.[1]
The task force said the operation seized more than 50 pounds of illegal kratom and high-potency marijuana together with more than $14,000 in cash.[1] At the store, agents seized multiple illegal kratom and THC products as well as felony drug paraphernalia.[1] Probable cause from the store search led to a second search warrant, where agents seized eight large boxes of illegal kratom and THC products along with the cash.[1] Investigators determined the products were stored and packaged at the second location and taken to the store, where they were not displayed but sold from the back storeroom and from Al Baadani’s car when requested.[1]
Sheriff Terry Smith and Brownsville Police Chief Kelvin Evans watched a member of the Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force test the products on site.[1] The office of District Attorney General Frederick H. Agee will prosecute the case, with all charges remaining allegations and everyone presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.[1]
