NEWTOWN, Ohio — Two people have been arrested after Newtown police received complaints of underage sales and products making customers feel ill from a vape shop.
Chief of Newtown Police Tom Synan stated in a social media post that the department served a search warrant Monday for the VIP Smoke Shop in the 7300 block of Main Street in Newtown.
According to Synan, the owner of the shop, Abdalah Ezzuldin Jararweh, 29, was arrested with Leen Hani Sabri Abu Saideh, 30, an employee of the store. Their arrests come after a months-long investigation.
Learn more about the arrests in the video below:
Both are charged with trafficking in marijuana and Saideh is also accused of sales of tobacco products under the age of 21.
"This is one of probably the most concerning complaints we get from residents and just community members surrounding the area just because of potential underage sales," Synan said to WCPO.
He took to Facebook following the arrests because he wanted to send a clear message to the community. There are simple rules when it comes to responsibly running a business, and Jaraweh and Saideh failed to follow them, he said.
"Sell to who you're supposed to sell and don't sell the products you're not supposed to sell," he said. "When you get so many complaints around juveniles — or people underage — you start thinking, is that the market you really want? That's not what we want. We want to make sure you're selling to who you're supposed to and sell the products that you're supposed to sell. Make sure that they're safe for the public and that's what we're looking for."
Synan said there are more charges to come as the investigation is ongoing.
Jararweh and Saideh made bond. During their arraignment on Tuesday, the prosecution wanted their passports held. The Judge denied holding the passports since the detective overseeing the case said they did not believe Jararweh and Saideh would leave the country. Both are expected back in court on April 1.
Jararweh is the new owner of the vape shop. According to Synan, this is the second time the Newtown Police Department has received complaints about this VIP Smoke Shop that have led to investigations and arrests.
"We saw in the (Facebook) response, this is something that people are upset about," he said. "They don't want their kids involved. I can't tell you how many parents reach out, not only in this operation but the last one, and say, 'Thank you. I didn't want my child exposed to this type of thing.'"
Earlier in March, police raided eight VIP Smoke Shops in Warren County and one in Norwood.
Synan said the Newtown arrests are unrelated to the last week's raids and that for now, he is unaware of any connection.
"You're starting to see this pattern or the same conduct," Synan said. "Hopefully the state looks at this and sees that pattern and says wait a minute, we need to look a little further."
