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| Feds make record drug bust of Qat...in Baltimore |
| 2004-10-29 |
| Another sign that the times, they are a-changin'...note: the syntax is a bit off in this article since it's a rewrite of a TV news story. Federal agents are crediting an anonymous tip to a drug bust that has four men behind bars. The men are accused of smuggling in millions of dollars worth of a drug that few [Americans] have even heard of. It's known as "Khat" or "Qat" and investigators say the men who had it smuggled in had plans to sell it in DC. "This particular seizure is the largest Khat seizure ever made in the United States," investigators said. Three thousand pounds of Khat, a naturally occurring stimulant similar to Amphetamine. On Tuesday, bags disguised as Oregano, pepper and other spices arrived at the port of Baltimore. Authorities explained how the drug arrived, "the Khat leaves...and they are in fact freeze-dried...the reason they are freeze-dried is to maintain the narcotic potency of the leaf." Waiting for the nearly three thousand pound shipment were federal agents with the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or "ICE." After it was seized, undercover ICE agents made contact with the recipients and arranged to deliver it to Washington, DC, to a self storage facility. The manager of the U-Store says he was in the process of renting out a storage unit to four men when they were surrounded by dozens of agents. "They were caught off guard. We were as well. They just came in and swamped the place and very shortly, they arrested them," the manager said. Although Khat is illegal in the United States, it is widely used throughout much of Europe, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The leaves are usually chewed or added to tea. It's still unclear how extensive this drug ring may have been, but with three thousand pounds of Khat off the street, agents are confident they put a significant dent in the sale of a little known drug. "The retail value exceeds $5-million so it's an extremely significant seizure." The four suspects all of Ethiopian descent are charged with drug smuggling and possession with intent to distribute a narcotic drug. In addition to the shipment that was intercepted in Baltimore, agents found more Khat being stashed in a storage in Silver Spring, Maryland. They also recovered 13-thousand-dollars in cash. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #2 It still cracks me up that they use "I.C.E." as an acronym, because it was the name of the fictional Matt Helm spy character's (Intelligence Counter Espionage) agency. To make matters worse, the Matt Helm series was made into a campy adult comedy, sci-fi fantasy, four-movie series starring Dean Martin. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-10-29 10:25:01 AM |
| #1 Lot of Somalis and Ethiopians around D.C. that I've met. (Obviously thousands more I haven't met.) But that would be the target market, jah? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-10-29 9:38:17 AM |