Utah brothers sentenced to prison for drug and money laundering crimes that involved the distribution of “bath salts” in Utah

Date: Jan. 8, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Salt Lake City, UT – One of two brothers that led a large drug trafficking organization was sentenced on January 7, 2026, to 96 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Mountazar Altalibi of Salt Lake County, Utah, was sentenced nearly a month after his brother, Jaafar Altalibi of Salt Lake County was sentenced to the same sentence, for a combined 16 years’ imprisonment.

The two sentences, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart, comes after Mountazar and Jaafar distributed Alpha-Pyrrolidinohexanophenone, commonly referred to as “Alpha PHP,” or “bath salts,” out of two Utah businesses for several years and made hundreds of thousands of dollars from their drug trafficking crimes. The two brothers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute α-Pyrrolidinohexanophenone (α-PHP), and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In addition to their terms of imprisonment, and supervised release, the court ordered the defendants to forfeit millions of dollars in assets including multiple residential and commercial properties, vehicles, businesses, jewelry, and other high-end personal property.

According to court documents and statements made at the Altalibi brothers’ change of plea and sentencing hearings, beginning in May 2020 through August 17, 2022, Mountazar and Jaafar Altalibi, imported and received “bath salts” from a foreign supplier and sold them to others for profit. The Altalibi brothers distributed the “bath salts” to each other and coconspirators, many of whom have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced, who then redistributed the “bath salts” on behalf of the Altalibi brothers.

Mountazar and Jaafar Altalibi further admitted that between November 2011 and August 2022, they assisted in the money laundering of drug proceeds by receiving cash from customers and supplying them with “bath salts.” The Altalibi brothers then used the proceeds of the distribution of the “bath salts” to reinvest in their distribution network by acquiring more “bath salts,” and to finance their lifestyle and homes. Jaafar also paid for and supplied his business, Smokers Haven, with the drug proceeds.

“Protecting our communities and prosecuting drug traffickers is a priority of this administration and my office,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. “Criminals who import and distribute bath salts or any other type of illegal and deadly substance will be held accountable.”

“The DEA and the Salt Lake City Metro Narcotics Task (MNTF) will continue to investigate any person or organization selling illegal substances that cause harm,” said Miguel Chino, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division Salt Lake Office. “It doesn’t matter whether it is bath salts, methamphetamine, or cocaine – the DEA and MNTF will continue to track down and arrest drug traffickers and seize illegal controlled substances and narcotics proceeds.”

The case was investigated jointly by the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force, made up of officers from the DEA, Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake/Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, West Valley City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Special assistance was provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Utah Department of Public Safety, Tooele Police Department, Sandy Police Department, South Jordan Police Department, Murray Police Department, Salt Lake City Police Department, Park City Police Department, and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

United States Attorneys Seth Nielsen, and Vernon G. Stejskal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. United States Attorney Travis Elder litigated the forfeiture case.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement 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 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.