Onslow County store owners sue sheriff over hemp raids

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - The owners of two Onslow County stores are suing Sheriff Chris Thomas over hemp raids and arrests conducted earlier this year.

In a federal lawsuit filed this morning, lawyers for Muammer Saleh, Tareq Alsaede, along with Hubert Tobacco Inc., and 53 Mini Mart & Tobacco 2 LLC, sued the sheriff and two of his deputies for what they say are “unlawful arrests and seizures.”

The lawsuit says in April, Operation Vapor Trail raided 71 tobacco and convenience stores and seized millions of dollars in hemp products and money.

“They came to my house, arrested me by looking at a picture of another person that looks like me, he’s my brother but he doesn’t live with me,” Muammer Saleh said in an interview. “They arrested me naked, they won’t even let me get dressed until I said please.”

Saleh is one of many tobacco and convenience store owners in Onslow County who was either arrested or had their stores raided.

Saleh was arrested and detained but released with no charges.

“Hemp is legal in the state of North Carolina,” said Abraham Schewel, the lawyer representing the case. “It’s lawful to sell, it’s lawful to purchase, it’s lawful to smoke, it’s lawful to eat in edible form, and it’s been that way in Onslow County for many years. At least since 2021 people have been lawfully selling hemp in Onslow County because it’s legal under federal and state law.”

Thirteen law enforcement agencies, including NCIS and the DEA conducted the crackdown on vape stores.

The lawsuit claims that Onslow County sheriffs targeted the stores owned by those of Middle Eastern descent while not raiding other stores in the county that sell the same hemp products.

“My clients are businessmen, they are United States citizens, they are members of the community and they just want to be treated fairly, they want to be treated equally,” Schewel said. “Had the Onslow County Sheriff given them notice that these products were illegal they would’ve voluntarily removed them from their shelves, these are not people selling drugs on the streets, these are not drug dealers right but they are being charged and treated like drug dealers.”

Schewel says even though the hemp products in the stores were legal under state and federal law, his clients were charged with crimes related to the possession and sale of marijuana.

At issue is the amount of delta-9 THC in the hemp and how the confiscated products were tested.

“Not only do my clients have packaging that says it’s a legal product but they also have test results saying its a legal product,” he said.

The lawsuit is asking a federal judge to block any future hemp raids and for the sheriff’s office to pay both compensatory and punitive damages after a jury trial in federal court.

In a statement to WITN, a spokesman says the sheriff isn’t commenting on the lawsuit being filed. “The sheriff has not been served with this suit,” says Trevor Dunnell. “We also do not comment on litigation on pending cases in court.”

Read the full lawsuit: