Customs officials seize major shipment of African drug
By Russ Rizzo
The Salt Lake Tribune
A curious U.S. Customs agent is being credited for the largest-ever drug seizure by customs officials in Salt Lake City.
Authorities say 431 pounds of a little-known African drug called khat was flown into the U.S. from Ethiopia before it was shipped by ground to Salt Lake City. The drugs were bound for a Holladay resident and marked as spices for personal use.
"He [the customs agent] just thought that 100 kilograms of spices for personal use was odd," said John Glaittli, the port director for customs in Salt Lake City.
The drugs were seized last week. That led to this week's arrest of two men now facing federal charges for importing narcotics.
Drug enforcement officials believe the khat was meant for distribution among African immigrants in the Salt Lake City area. Chewing the leaf gives an affect similar to an amphetamine.
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John Glaittli, the U.S Customs and Border Protection's port director for Salt Lake City, stands in front of the 450 pounds of khat his agency and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department confiscated. (Al Hartmann/Salt Lake Tribune)
Agents seize 431 lbs. of khat
Two arrests also are made when men try to retrieve it
By Russ Rizzo
The Salt Lake Tribune
A curious U.S. Customs agent is being credited for the largest-ever drug seizure by customs officials in Salt Lake City.
Authorities say 431 pounds of an African drug called khat was flown into the U.S. from Ethiopia before it traveled by truck to Salt Lake City.
The drugs, which came in two shipments, were bound for a Holladay resident and marked as spices for personal use.
"He [the customs agent] just thought that 100 kilograms of spices for personal use was odd," said John Glaittli, the port director for customs in Salt Lake City.
First alerted by a misspelled name on a customs form last week, the customs agent took a closer look at an initial shipment of 221 pounds of the chopped green leaves with an aroma described by drug detectives as a mixture of tea and alfalfa. As a California lab analyzed the leaves - eventually determining it contained two substances illegal in this country but not others - the second shipment arrived, according to court documents.
Federal agents issued warrants for Patrick Bahati, the man who tried to pick the shipment up last week. Salt Lake County detectives arrested him Wednesday. A second man, Sherif Sherif, tried to pick up the drugs and also was arrested, police said. Both men face federal charges of importing drugs. A third man, a Salt Lake City cab driver, was questioned and released.
Detectives believe the drugs were intended to be distributed among African immigrants in Salt Lake County.
"It's not like you're going to go to a local high school and sell it," said Lt. Paul Jaroscak, a sheriff's spokesman. "Nobody would know what it is."
Investigators are looking into what happened to a third shipment the taxi driver said the duo picked up in October. Meantime, Salt Lake County detectives have questions of their own about the substance that was jokingly referred to as "African marijuana."
"How many times in the past has it come in unnoticed?" asked detective Matt Vishner, who helped with the arrests.
"How many more shipments are coming?" responded Detective Doug Lambert.
What is khat?
* Khat, pronounced "cot," is a flowery evergreen shrub native to East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that is commonly used in cultural traditions.
* It typically is chewed.
* It offers a high similar to that of methamphetamine.
* The smell is similar to a blend of tea and alfalfa.
* The street value is about $400 to $600 a pound.
Source: Drug Enforcement Agency
I don't very well understand this khat importation. The cathinone is surely almost completely degraded to chathine by the time it's been sitting in SLC for a week. It would be interesting the see the results of their analysis.
21-12-2007, 18:43
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