Date: March 13, 2025
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Plano, TX — Three internet domains have been seized and ten individuals arrested in a scheme to provide drugs in prison, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
The internet domain name HerbalIncenseUSA.com and two related domains, Herbal-Biz.com and Herbal-Empire.com, were seized on March 6, 2025, following an investigation into drug distribution over the internet and through the U.S. Mail.
According to information provided in court, the three websites are alleged to have sold a variety of controlled substances, to include synthetic cannabinoids, aka “K2” or “Spice” specifically marketed as fictitious legal mail for the express purpose of smuggling the drugs into prisons and correctional facilities through the U.S. Mail and with the assistance of corrupt guards. “K2” supplied by the sites was responsible for multiple overdoses of prisoners being held on pre-trial detention in the Eastern District of Texas and throughout the country. A sheet of paper soaked in the drug sells for approximately $1,000 within a prison. “K2” distribution is difficult for correctional facilities to detect, as there are no reliable presumptive drug test kits that identify the drug.
The investigation identified the three websites as being the primary supplier of “K2,” shipping thousands of drug parcels to the Eastern District of Texas and tens of thousands being shipped nationwide yearly. Gross revenue from the websites was in the millions of dollars each year.
Those arrested and named in two separate federal indictments in the Eastern District of Texas are as follows:
- Rana Alrichani of San Jose, CA
- Taleen Gabriel Zakarian of Glendale, CA
- Daniela Inman of Anaheim, CA
- Ioana Harhoiu of Irvine, CA
- Ziad Tohme of Burbank, CA
- Gabriel Raad of Land O’Lakes, FL
- Daisy Chalfoun of Land O’Lakes, FL
- Luisa Shahinyan of North Hills, CA
- Harout Payaslyan of Valley Village, CA
- Manuk Payaslyan of Los Angeles, CA
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The seizures are part of a joint investigation with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. This matter will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.