Muhammad S. Iftikhar, an FDNY captain “on the boss’s list for promotion” was arrested for allegedly receiving mail orders of steroids and ecstasy at his home in upstate New York .
Iftikhar (43), assigned to Engine Co. 282, who serves a mostly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Borough Park (Brooklyn), was arrested on February 8 after the execution of a search warrant at his home in Goshen, Orange County, by state investigators, Homeland Security and the US Postal Inspection Service, reported New York Post.
Investigators seized more than 50 grams of anabolic steroids and more than 20 grams of ecstasy or MDMA, reported the State Police (NYSP). “It was a six-month investigation,” said spokesman Beau Duffy, without giving more details about what had provoked it or the use that the accused would give to drugs.
A woman, María Younis (39), was also arrested at the residence. Iftikhar was charged with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance – a hallucinogen with the intent to sell, authorities said. He was tried in the Goshen court and released at his own risk. The FDNY placed him on a 30 day suspension without pay.
The veteran firefighter was promoted to lieutenant in July of 2013 and became a captain in 2018, as public records show. The total payment to Iftikhar last year was $282,000 dollars, according to SeeThroughNY.