What was billed as a buzzing Antioch nightlife spot was, according to federal prosecutors, doubling as a drug hub. Rimon Salim, 38, the owner and operator of Club Miami on Antioch Pike, pleaded guilty in federal court on June 22, 2026, to two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Prosecutors say the sales involved methamphetamine and cocaine that moved through the nightclub’s bathrooms and back rooms. Salim is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21, 2026.
Federal plea and potential prison time
The Department of Justice announced the plea on June 22, 2026, and local reporting says Salim admitted to distributing both meth and cocaine, pleading guilty to two federal counts that each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. WKRN reported the plea and noted that prosecutors will make their sentencing recommendations at the Sept. 21 hearing. The guilty plea resolves the federal case against Salim while related investigations and prosecutions of other individuals tied to the clubs continue.
Raid, arrests and the long-running probe
Federal prosecutors say the case grew out of a long-running investigation into alleged drug activity at Club Miami and a neighboring venue. A March 31, 2025, press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee described a tactical operation at the Antioch Pike club on March 30, 2025, that followed undercover buys and months of complaints from neighbors and nearby businesses. That release also listed participation by federal and state partners in the investigation, including tasking and arrests carried out during the operation. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Tennessee
Court filings detail undercover buys
Court documents say Salim sold about 55 grams of cocaine to a confidential informant on March 9, 2025, and roughly 27.69 grams of methamphetamine on Feb. 23, 2025, with prosecutors alleging he weighed the drugs on a scale inside the club bathroom before completing the transactions. As reported by WKRN, the March 2025 operation led to multiple arrests and additional criminal complaints tied to the venues. The filings describe undercover buys, surveillance, and witness accounts that prosecutors say established a pattern of drug sales at the clubs.
How prosecutors see the club
In the Justice Department’s announcement, FBI Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly said the FBI is "committed to dismantling the drug networks that threaten our neighborhoods," and United States Attorney Braden H. Boucek called Salim’s nightclub a "marketplace for methamphetamine and cocaine." Prosecutors argued that the venue’s hours and layout allowed illicit transactions to occur out of the view of staff and most patrons. Federal authorities framed those comments as part of a broader effort to target nightlife venues that they say facilitate drug distribution.
What comes next
Salim’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21, 2026, when a federal judge will weigh the plea, the statutory maximum penalties, and the federal sentencing guidelines. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the case was a multiagency investigation involving the FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Tennessee Department of Revenue, and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. For background on the original arrests and complaints, see the U.S. Attorney’s Office release. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Tennessee
The plea resolves the federal criminal count against Salim but does not necessarily end local scrutiny of the clubs. Other defendants connected to the March 2025 operation have faced charges and court proceedings. As the Sept. 21 sentencing approaches, prosecutors and defense lawyers are expected to file a briefing and evidence that could shed more light on how the alleged drug activity operated inside a once-popular Antioch nightlife spot.
