WESTLAND — Five Arab American men have been sentenced to 2-17 years in prison in connection with a pharmacy robbery that occurred in Westland in 2012.

The five men charged are all from the Dearborn-Detroit area. Ali Ramzi Bazzi, Hassan I. Faraj, Mike Ali Ibrahim and Khoder Aoun all pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court.  The fifth man involved in the case, Fahed Hammad, originally pleaded not guilty when his case went to trial in May 2013.

All of the men convicted are in their early 20s, with the exception of Bazzi, who is in his 30s. The charges ranged from use of a firearm, interference with commerce by threat of violence, the manufacturing, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances and conspiracy to commit robbery. 

That incident was captured on surveillance video and played a vital role as evidence in U.S. District Court, where each individual was tried and convicted separately. 

Three of the men were captured on camera wearing face masks and entering the Westland Pharmacy, where they tied up three employees at gunpoint and stole more than $40,000 worth of prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Xanax and Valium. It is estimated that the drugs could have been sold for more than $250,000 on the street.

In addition, the men stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the register during the robbery. A female customer, who happened to be in the store at the time, was also robbed. The men confiscated cash from her purse before fleeing the scene. 

An employee at the Westland pharmacy was one of the men convicted of the robbery and involved in  orchestrating the plan. Police obtained text message evidence that suggests the employee gave the three men the green-light before they entered the store to execute the robbery. 

All of the men were believed to have been connected  to a string of pharmacy robberies in the Westland, Canton and Livonia areas in 2012, but were only criminally charged for the Westland pharmacy due to lack of evidence in the other cases. 

Bazzi was sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison, which will then be followed by a supervised release for three years. 

Ibrahim received a five year and four month sentencing, which will then be followed by three years of supervised release. 

Aoun received a sentencing of eight years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  Hammad, received the most severe sentencing, with 17 years and six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. 

Faraj received the lightest sentencing of the five men, with two years and six months behind bars, followed by a three-year supervised release.