Man on bail for armed robbery at Saks in Back Bay now faces federal gun, drug charges after arrest in Revere

A Cambridge man who was charged with using a knife during a scarf robbery at the Back Bay Saks in June now faces federal charges that he used his time in front of bars to become a gun-packing drug dealer, according to documents unsealed in US District Court in Boston on Friday.

Abdelouahab Adel, 23, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in the commission of a drug-trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The last charge is not related to the Saks allegations - which have yet to go before a jury - but for his conviction in 2018 for home invasion, armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, which got him a 2 1/2-year sentence in state prison, according to an affidavit by an FBI agent on the case.

According to the affidavit, the FBI's Violent Crime Task Force turned its attention to Adel in August, after an informant alerted it that Adel had become a gun-packing coke dealer.

On September 19, 2023, shortly before stopping ADEL, investigators obtained evidence (including surveillance by investigators) that ADEL had conducted a hand-to-hand drug deal in which he sold a small bag of what appeared to be cocaine. Investigators also obtained evidence that, during this drug deal on September 19, ADEL had displayed what appeared to be a handgun. Given the evidence that ADEL had just conducted a hand-to-hand drug deal while armed with what appeared to be a handgun, investigators stopped ADEL at the Target Shopping Center in Revere. Investigators conducted a pat-frisk of ADEL. A firearm was subsequently located in a bag strapped around ADEL's body. The firearm was identified as a Glock-style 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a TARAN Tactical Combat Master slide and a weapon mounted laser light. The pistol was loaded with 18 rounds of 9mm ammunition. ...

Other evidence was recovered from the same bag that held the firearm. Investigators recovered three plastic bags, which contained a white powdery substance consistent with cocaine, a controlled substance, and which had a cumulative weight of approximately 12.3 grams. The substance was field-tested and tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Based on my training and experience, the three bags are consistent with the street-level trafficking of cocaine. Investigators also recovered approximately $468 in United States currency from the same bag.

Innocent, etc.