Lansdale Man Faces Fourth Set of Charges Since March

North Penn Now Staff•

Early last week, we reported on a Lansdale man—23-year-old Mehdi Mollah—being arrested for the third time since early March. On Thursday, Hatfield Township Police levied an additional set of charges against Mollah, accusing him of pretending to be his brother during a drug-related traffic stop that occurred while on bail from his first arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, while Hatfield Township Police were concluding a traffic stop along the 1600 block of Bethlehem Pike at 1:07 a.m. on April 10, a silver Toyota Camry allegedly passed by the scene without changing lanes or slowing down. Police then pulled over the Toyota along the 1200 block of Bethlehem Pike, and made contact with the driver, initially identified as Mahmud Mollah.

The complaint states that police could smell marijuana emanating from the vehicle, and a search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered a few zip-lock baggies with marijuana residue, along with 10 one-gram THC vape cartridges. The report states that police believed the driver possessed the small amount of marijuana for personal use.

Then, on May 27, police received a call from Mahmud Mollah, stating that he had never been stopped by police on April 10. Mahmud Mollah informed police that he had a brother named Mehdi Mollah, and the ensuing investigation allegedly showed that Mehdi Mollah had a suspended license for DUI, and had supplied his brother’s information to police during the traffic stop, the report states.

As a result of the investigation, Mollah—who was already in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post $50,000 bail from his third arrest—has been charged with false identification to law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license.

Mehdi Mollah was arraigned on June 27 in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at $5,000 cash. His next court appearance in this case is a preliminary hearing on July 15 at 1:45 p.m. in front of Judge Levine.

Timeline of Arrests

March 2 - Mehdi Mollah was charged with one felony count of possession with intent to deliver, one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and a summary charge of driving without headlights, in connection with a traffic stop that occurred at 10:32 p.m. Bail was initially set at $5,000 cash, but was later reduced to $1,000 cash and was posted a short time later.

April 27 - Mehdi Mollah was charged with one felony count of aggravated harassment by a prisoner, along with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, DUI, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and a summary charge of driving on a suspended license, in connection with an incident that allegedly involved drugs, driving under the influence, and Mollah spitting in the face of a police officer. Bail was set at $20,000 cash, which was later posted by a bail bondsman.

June 23 - Mehdi Mollah was charged with one felony count of possession with intent to distribute, misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, and summary-level charges, stemming from a domestic incident in Lansdale. Bail was set at $50,000 cash, and Mollah was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail.

June 27 – Mehdi Mollah was charged with false identification to law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license, in connection with a traffic stop that occurred on April 10.

(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)