09/26/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1QQzK6UFVb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Pay attention to where you spend your money, these people are horrible and don’t have anyone’s best interests in mind period!! Glad to see them fold!!
🚨 HAMILTON, OHIO: NEARLY 100 SMOKE SHOPS, DRUGS SOLD TO MINORS… AND A SEPARATE CHILD SEX-TRAFFICKING CASE
The more we dug into the VIP Smoke Shop case, the worse the story got.
Brothers Ismail Sharida, 40, and Wael Sharaydeh, 57, co-owners of nearly 100 VIP Smoke Shops across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Butler County Common Pleas Court in Hamilton, Ohio to felony drug-trafficking charges.
And there’s a LOT to unpack.
🔸 ILLEGAL DRUG SALES TO MINORS
According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, an investigation led by the Warren County Drug Task Force found VIP shops were selling illegal substances to minors in Southwest Ohio.
Investigators said searches uncovered hashish oils, resins and v**e cartridges containing illegal amounts of Delta-9 THC.
They also found products containing an analog of psilocin, the hallucinogenic compound associated with psychedelic mushrooms.
Both brothers pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking hashish and one count of trafficking a Schedule I controlled-substance analog.
The brothers AND VIP Distribution Inc. also pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
🔸 NEARLY 100 STORES NOW HAVE TO GO
As part of the plea agreements, the brothers must sell or close all of their VIP Smoke Shops before their December 1 sentencing.
They’re also forfeiting:
• More than $338,000 seized from stores and associated bank accounts
• At least six vehicles
• At least three fi****ms
• Illegal products that tested positive for hashish or psilocin analogs
They also agreed to dismiss lawsuits they’d filed against law enforcement and Warren County over the searches.
But here’s where this story takes an entirely different turn.
🔸 A SEPARATE FEDERAL CASE INVOLVING WAEL SHARAYDEH
This allegation applies to Wael, not his brother Ismail, and it is separate from the drug case they just resolved.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in August 2024, investigators said evidence gathered during the investigation established probable cause to believe Wael Sharaydeh had violated federal laws involving child s*x trafficking and receiving child po*******hy.
Those are allegations contained in a federal criminal complaint and should NOT be confused with the charges the brothers just pleaded guilty to.
So when you put the pieces together:
Nearly 100 smoke shops across three states.
Illegal drugs sold to minors in Southwest Ohio, according to investigators.
Hashish and products containing a psychedelic-mushroom-related compound.
Felony drug-trafficking guilty pleas.
A guilty plea to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars, vehicles, guns and illegal products being forfeited.
Every VIP Smoke Shop must be sold or closed.
And one of the owners separately became the subject of a federal child-s*x-trafficking and child-po*******hy case.
😳 This went WAY beyond a smoke shop selling questionable v**e cartridges.
And it all unraveled through an investigation that started right here in Southwest Ohio.
Had you heard about the separate federal case connected to one of the owners? Because THAT part of this story wasn’t in most of yesterday’s headlines.
