Manhattan smoke shop at center of major drug trafficking network

Federal prosecutors have charged Mujahed Ali and Quirino Garcia Diaz with conspiring to distribute narcotics, accusing them of running a scheme that supplied traffickers with the tools to cut, press and package illegal drugs.

According to federal agents, the pair operated out of an Inwood smoke shop where they sold cutting agents and drug paraphernalia to traffickers. Federal complaints say employees even advised an undercover officer on which substances would “make cocaine shine the most.”

Investigators say a month-long probe traced the operation to six narcotics mills across Manhattan, the Bronx and New Jersey, leading to the arrests of eight traffickers tied to those sites. Agents also seized bulk quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, along with firearms and equipment used to package drugs.

Ali and Garcia Diaz were arrested Monday at the smoke shop where they worked and allegedly ran the operation. They are due before a federal judge on Tuesday.

This article was adapted from an original report published on bronx.news12.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.