A Waterbury man has been sentenced to five years in prison for manufacturing and selling a date rape drug, according to the United States Attorney's Office for Connecticut.
Hatem Salem, 46, of Waterbury, ordered gallons of Gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL), Ketamine and controlled substances from locations including China and Pakisan, according to court documents and statements between March 2011 and October 2013. He used GBL to make Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), more commonly known as the "date rape drug" and sold it and controlled substances to body builders and nightclub/bar patrons in Connecticut and New Jersey, U.S. Attorney for District of Connecticut Deirdre M. Daly.
He also sold "Molly," cocaine, Adderall and other controlled substances, Daly said.
Police arrested him Oct. 31, 2013 and he pleaded guilty on Aug. 24, 2015 to unlawful importation of GBL with the intent to produce a controlled substance, Daly said.
Salem has two previous federal convictions and another in the state. The FBI arrested him in New York on April 2, 1998 on charges of importing and distributing steroids and other controlled pharmaceutical drugs. He pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to five years of probation.
Then on May 13, 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Salem in New York on charges of distributing wholesale quanities of GHB in New York and Connecticut, including to an undercover agent, according to Daly. Salem pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 51 months in prison.
Ansonia police arrested Salem July 18, 2012 on charges of trying to fill a fraudulent perscription at a pharmacy for 180 30-mililgram oxycodone pills. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to one year of imprisonment, excecution suspended, and two years of probation.
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In the most recent case, Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA's New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad oversaw the investigation, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale prosecuted.
