Owners of VIP Smoke Shop plead guilty to drug-related charges

(HAMILTON, OH.) – Two brothers who own nearly 100 VIP Smoke Shops have pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking and organized crime charges. 

One of the VIP Smoke Shop stores is located in Batesville. The others are in Ohio and Kentucky. 

40-year-old Ismail Sharida and 57-year-old Wael Sharaydeh, both of the Cincinnati area, pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking hashish and one count of trafficking a Schedule I controlled substance analog.

The brothers, along with their company, VIP Distribution Inc., also pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

They were indicted by a grand jury in 2024 after an investigation revealed that their shops were selling illegal substances to minors in southwest Ohio.

Search warrants led police to finding hashish - a potent form of cannabis - in the form of oils, resins and vape cartridges containing illegal amounts of Delta-9 THC. 

“Investigators also discovered that the shops sold products containing an analog of psilocin, a hallucinogenic compound found in psychedelic mushrooms,” said Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson. 

As part of their plea agreements, the brothers must close or sell all VIP Smoke Shops before sentencing in December. 

The men will also forfeit at least six vehicles, more than $338,000 from business accounts and at least three guns. 

The agreements also prohibit them from owning, operating or working for smoke shops during a probation period to be set by the court. Additionally, the brothers agreed to dismiss civil lawsuits that they filed against law enforcement and Warren County in response to the search warrants.

“From the start, this case has been about keeping dangerous drugs out of the hands of children,” Wilson said. “These illegal substances have no place in our communities. If you traffic them, you’ll be held accountable.”