State Police detectives have arrested the owner and an employee of the Tobacco Tavern in Ville Platte as part of an investigation into the death of a 17-year-old boy in Turkey Creek. Sergeant Peggy Bourque says the day before Taylon Hebert’s death, he purchased over the counter herbal supplement pills from the Tobacco Tavern, which were suspected to contain a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance.
“On September 19th, agents with the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, along with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, seized similar pills from that same location,” Bourque stated.
Bourque says State Police is not releasing the exact name of the drug allegedly sold to Hebert or the over-the-counter herbal supplemental pills seized during a search warrant.
“They were suspected of containing a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance, but I can’t really go beyond what we’ve released at this time,” Bourque said.
The two men arrested are from New Iberia. Bourque says 34-year-old Musa Saleh Salem and the employee, 29-year-old Ghaleb Mohammed Mousa have been charged with Distribution of a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance.
“On September 24, Mousa was arrested; and then the following day Salem was also booked into the same jail, Evangeline Parish Jail,” Bourque noted.
State Senator Heather Cloud, who represents the town of Turkey Creek in Evangeline Parish, said in a statement that anyone who knowingly sells dangerous, illegal products to adolescents is putting profit before lives. Cloud also said that parents must understand the danger and talk with their children and stay vigilant.
