On an otherwise unremarkable industrial lot in Akron, a parked shipping container was allegedly serving as a high-volume stash house, according to federal investigators. Inside, officers say they found about 68 pounds of suspected crystal methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine, along with at least one AR-15 rifle and magazines. Authorities allege the container functioned as a bulk storage hub while smaller drug sales were carried out around the city. Court filings identify a man named Ishmael Wahid as a suspect, and a magistrate judge has ordered him held in custody until a follow-up hearing set for next Tuesday.
How investigators tracked the container
Federal agents say they watched the conex box with surveillance cameras from November through February. A Department of Homeland Security affidavit reviewed by WJW describes an individual matching Wahid’s description going into the container with a backpack and leaving without it. The affidavit also reportedly details later visits where the same person arrived carrying a large duffel bag and a rolling suitcase.
Those repeated trips to the container helped prosecutors secure the search warrant that ultimately led to the seizure, according to WJW.
What agents say they found
When agents executed the search warrant earlier this month, they reportedly recovered suspected crystal methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl and suspected cocaine from inside the container, along with an AR-15 rifle, magazines and ammunition. Reporting and documents reviewed by investigators estimate the total suspected narcotics at about 68 pounds, a quantity federal prosecutors say typically signals wholesale-level distribution.
As detailed by Local 12, the container sat on an industrial property in Akron and was allegedly being used as a storage point for drug shipments.
Charges and court timeline
Prosecutors have charged Wahid with possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, according to reporting based on the federal affidavit. Wahid appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Akron and is being held until another hearing that is scheduled for next Tuesday…