6,400+: Arkansas DFA seizes illegal hemp and vape products from 3 Hot Springs-area shops; 4 arrests

Arkansas regulators say they seized more than 6,400 illegal products from three Hot Springs-area tobacco and vape shops and made four arrests, according to a Nov. 5, 2026, news release from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration that KATV reported the same day.

The DFA Regulatory Enforcement Division said the products included intoxicating hemp-derived substances, synthetic cannabis and suspected controlled-substance compounds, and illicit and unregulated vape products. The shops named in the release were Ameer's Tobacco and Vape in Hot Springs, Loyal Vape in Hot Springs, and Ameer's Vape and Cigar in Hot Springs Village.

Agents worked with the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force and Homeland Security to carry out search and seizure warrants, the release said. Besides the 6,400-plus individual products, agents reported seizing 29 grams of marijuana flower, $4,298 in U.S. currency, and one Glock 9mm handgun. During the warrants, agents said they found three concealed compartments behind false walls that contained suspected narcotics and illegal vape products.

The release broke down the product counts by store. At Ameer's Tobacco and Vape on Albert Pike in Hot Springs, agents reported 1,074 illegal vape products and 1,067 suspected narcotic or intoxicating-substance products. At Ameer's Vape and Cigar in Hot Springs Village, they reported 1,410 illegal vape products and 1,580 suspected narcotic or intoxicating-substance products. At Loyal Vape on Central Avenue in Hot Springs, they reported 1,339 individual illegal vape devices and 1,356 grams of intoxicating THC products.

Four people were arrested in connection with the Hot Springs-area stores, according to DFA. The release identified Hemyar Mahubemulhi Abdulla, also known as "Ameer," as arrested for delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, maintaining a drug premises, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, and possession of drug paraphernalia. It identified Sidnee Jones, Aldailam Ammar, and Thilab Alshawhati as arrested for simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver, maintaining a drug premises, unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Those statements are allegations. None of the people named in the release has been convicted in connection with this investigation based on the materials reviewed for this report, and each is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Local coverage from late October described an earlier stage of the same Hot Springs-area investigation. On Oct. 30, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that an undercover inquiry into alleged illegal marijuana sales at area tobacco and vape shops led to the Oct. 29 arrests of three employees on multiple felony charges by the local drug task force. Those articles named Hemyar "Ameer" Mahube Mulhi Abdulla, Ammar Aldailam, and Sidnee Michelle Jones, citing probable-cause affidavits. Name spellings and name order vary slightly between the DFA release and the local court reporting; this article follows each source as published.

According to the affidavits summarized by the Sentinel-Record and Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Regulatory Enforcement Division investigators, working with an undercover Hot Springs police detective, reported making purchases at Ameer's Tobacco and Vape on Albert Pike between mid- and late October, including a THC vape and a bag labeled "Blue Cookies" that later tested positive for synthetic cannabis. The coverage said a search warrant at an Ameer's location near Hot Springs Village on Oct. 29 turned up cash, THC vapes, bags of marijuana, a scale, and a Glock 43 9mm pistol with a loaded magazine. Bond and charging details in those Oct. 30 articles, including a zero-bond hold tied to a felony gun charge for two of the defendants, reflect the status reported then and may have changed.

The Nov. 5 DFA release also said a related September arrest at Ameer's Tobacco and Vape in Bryant involved Taleb Ebnou, who was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for deportation. That statement is included as the agency reported it; this desk has not independently reviewed immigration case records.

KATV's Nov. 5 report repeated the DFA product tallies and arrest list and quoted Hudson's warning that the Hot Springs-area arrests should caution anyone operating outside state and federal law. The station credited DFA for photos accompanying the story. This desk used a Sentinel-Record exterior photograph of an Ameer's Tobacco & Vape storefront that ran with the Oct. 30 local arrest coverage for social posts; that image is credited to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / Sentinel-Record photo and is not used on hemplawwatch.com.

Arkansas has been enforcing a state ban on intoxicating hemp-derived products after federal appellate litigation. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in July 2025 that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit allowed the state to enforce its ban on delta-8 and other psychoactive hemp products. A September 2025 DFA release, summarized in contemporaneous coverage, said agents had already seized about 6,000 illegal hemp-derived products after retailer outreach. The Nov. 5 Hot Springs-area action sits in that enforcement line: state regulators treating intoxicating hemp and related vape products sold outside the medical-marijuana system as illegal.

DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said in the Nov. 5 release that regulatory agents "have made thousands of visits to retailers across Arkansas" and that the arrests "should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can operate independent of state and federal law." David Potter, director of DFA's Regulatory Enforcement Division, said the retailers "were fully aware of the narcotics they were selling and took steps to conceal their products," and warned that sellers of misleadingly packaged products may face criminal charges and permit revocation. Those are the agency's characterizations; the criminal cases will turn on evidence tested in court.

The federal intoxicating-hemp definition change still scheduled for Dec. 11, 2026, is a separate timeline. Arkansas' state ban and this DFA enforcement action do not depend on that federal date, based on the state materials reviewed here. Readers should not treat this report as legal advice about what any retailer or consumer may sell, buy, or possess in Arkansas or elsewhere.

Hemp Law Watch reviewed the Nov. 5 DFA release (via the agency page and KATV's same-day report), the Oct. 30 Hot Springs Sentinel-Record and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette arrest coverage, and the Democrat-Gazette's July 2025 Eighth Circuit report. Product counts, cash, firearm, and arrest lists above follow the DFA release. Affidavit narrative details follow the Oct. 30 local coverage and are attributed as alleged. No booking photographs from a jail source were available in the reachable pages used for this package; social posts use a Sentinel-Record exterior photo of an Ameer's Tobacco & Vape storefront published with the Oct. 30 coverage.