A Buffalo smoke shop owner was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after his conviction for possessing 500 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York said.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo sentenced Basheer Saleh, 42, on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Investigators made four controlled cocaine purchases totaling about 532 grams at Saleh's Sweet Puff's Smoke Shop on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo in July and August 2025, according to prosecutors.
During searches on Sept. 2, 2025, at the shop, a vacant store next door owned by Saleh and his Delaware Avenue home, investigators seized about 5,000 grams of cocaine, some crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and ammunition.
The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Kass and Monica Benjovsky prosecuted.
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