Three St. Louis area residents admitted on Apr. 9 to selling fentanyl and other drugs via social media, including substances that led to one fatal and one nonfatal overdose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The case highlights concerns about illegal drug distribution using online platforms and its impact on public safety in the region. The involvement of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, is particularly significant due to its role in overdose deaths nationwide.
Aeman Ali, age 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to aiding and abetting the maintaining of a drug-involved premises. Zaki Salman, also 23 and from Hazelwood, previously pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy charges related to distributing controlled substances and distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury. Haeder Jameel, 23, pleaded guilty in March to similar charges involving MDMA and fentanyl.
According to plea agreements described by prosecutors, Salman rented a home on Ohio Street that served as a base for selling drugs between August and December 2022. Drugs were purchased from California by Salman and Jameel before being advertised on social media platforms for sale locally; when Salman was absent, either Jameel or Ali would conduct transactions at the residence. A court-approved search recovered multiple controlled substances including cocaine, MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), amphetamine, prescription pills, and fentanyl.
Salman delivered drugs described as Percocet pain pills—but which contained fentanyl—to a minor who overdosed but survived after receiving Narcan treatment on Sept. 18, 2022; both Salman and Jameel admitted their roles in this incident during their pleas. They also acknowledged that another individual died from an overdose after purchasing fentanyl-laced pills at the same location two months later.
Ali is scheduled for sentencing July 28; Salman’s hearing is set for May 18 while Jameel’s will take place June 18—each faces up to twenty years imprisonment per count if convicted.
The Drug Enforcement Administration worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations along with several local police departments during the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri investigates federal crimes such as terrorism or fraud while enforcing civil rights laws according to its official website. The office works alongside law enforcement agencies across forty-nine counties within eastern Missouri as detailed online, operating out of courthouses located both in St. Louis (Thomas F. Eagleton U.S Courthouse) and Cape Girardeau (Rush H Limbaugh Sr US Courthouse) according to official sources.
