Bust called ‘huge’ by U.S. Attorney’s Office
DOWNTOWN LA — A Santa Monica resident accused by federal authorities of acting as the head boss in an international opium ring will face a federal grand jury in June.
The United States Attorney’s Office last week indicted Mehrdad Lari, 47, who was arrested at his home on the 300 block of 11th Street on May 4 for possession with intent to distribute opium. Lari, who is being detained at Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, is scheduled to enter a plea on June 23 at the U.S. Central District of California Roybal Federal Court building.
Authorities allege Lari bought and sold millions of dollars worth of drugs to various mid-level opium distributors throughout Los Angeles from 2001 to as recently as March, according to an affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case. Lari allegedly purchased opium from Gholam Hassan Nasseri-Jafar, who supplied the drug organization from his sources in Iran even after he was arrested in December of 2003 by the German State Police.
U.S. Central District of California Court Judge Carla M. Woehrle set bail at $1.25 million during a bond hearing held on May 5. Tom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Lari’s brothers were able to help Lari put up the money for bail.
However, Judge Woehrle’s decision was successfully appealed by U.S. Assistant Attorney Peter Hernandez. Lari, who would have been confined to his home with electronic supervision, was denied bail.
Lari’s wife, Marjan Sarshar, 47, who also was arrested on May 4, said she and her husband are Santa Monica residents who have children. She declined to comment on the case.
Lari’s attorney, Mark Werksman, did-n’t return phone calls seeking comment.
Hernandez characterized the drug bust that led to Lari’s arrest as “huge.” Multiple criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court earlier this month show that in December 2003, German State Police and the DEA in Frankfurt seized about 271 kilograms of opium — worth about $5.4 million — from a drug organization run by Nasseri-Jafar. Nasseri-Jafar and his associates were arrested, and further investigation uncovered an international drug ring, where the opium was obtained from Iran, passed through Germany and shipped to Los Angeles, according to the complaints.
The business cards of Lari and his employee, Ali Mojaddam, were found in Nasseri-Jafar’s apartment in Dusseldorf, Germany, in October of 2002, when German police served a search warrant there, according to the affidavit.
Lari owns and operates a jewelry and design company called Mallery Design, located in the jewelry district in downtown LA. The affidavit alleges Lari used his business to sell opium, purify it from its raw form and launder the proceeds from its sale.
Opium is a primary component of heroin, both of which are derived from the opium poppy plant harvested mostly in Asia, authorities said.
A Drug Enforcement Agency special agent had been investigating Lari and several individuals alleged to have been involved in the ring since 2003. The U.S.
Attorney’s Office alleges the money laundering and opium distribution ring involved more than a dozen people, with Lari being described as the “boss of the bosses.”
The DEA and the FBI allege Lari and Mojaddam distributed the opium received from Nasseri-Jafar in Germany, and wired the sale proceeds to various international locations. Additionally, Lari allegedly used the proceeds to acquire property and high-valued vehicles, as well as set up limited liability corporations and refinance real property and homes.
During the investigation in LA, authorities obtained telephone records, bank records, property loan records and other information relating to the organization, all of which led a special agent to believe Lari and Mojaddam allegedly continued to sell opium and launder money even after Nasseri-Jafar’s arrest, the affidavit said.
Confidential informants aided authorities in tracking the smuggling of drugs, which were carried into the United States in false-bottomed suitcases.
In total, 11 arrests were made by the DEA and the FBI. Also arrested for their alleged roles in the opium drug ring that stretched from Iran and Germany to Boston and Los Angeles, were Kamran Atarzadeh, 53, and Faramarz Bokhour, 55, both of Los Angeles. They were arrested for possession with the intent to distribute opium. Individuals arrested for money laundering include Bijan Kohanzad, 43, of Brentwood; Houshyar Babelpour, 44, of Woodland Hills; Benham Azimi, 45, of Pasadena; Fariborz Ahl, 44, of Los Angeles; and Moussa Abadiah, 55, of Beverly Hills. All of the arrests were made in the Los Angeles area.
Mehdi Ilkani, 58, of Santa Monica, was arrested at his home in the Ocean Park neighborhood. Ilkani was arrested for money laundering and is considered by authorities as a mid-level opium distributor.
Through surveillance, the DEA special agent tracked at least 10 transactions and deliveries that involved either Lari or Mojaddam between April 2002 and January of 2005, according to the affidavit.
The IRS, the Glendale Police Department and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office assisted the DEA and FBI in the arrests.
In addition to the arrests, search warrants related to the investigation were executed at 13 locations in the Los Angeles area, including Lari’s 11th Street home.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 16, 2005. Read the original PDF.