Police say khat abuse on the rise

WSMV
By Carley Gordon
Wednesday, April 1, 2015

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MANCHESTER, TN (WSMV) - State troopers are learning more about a drug few have heard of because officials said it's becoming more common.

Last March, Metro police found 107 pounds of khat in a storage unit of Murfreesboro Pike. Osman Omer was arrested and charged for the crime.

Last Friday, there was another major bust in Coffee County.

"This is the first large quantity we've seen," Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said. "During Bonnaroo was our first experience and it was just in small quantities. And of course, at the time, we thought it was just another synthetic."

Khat, or Catha edulis, is a flowering shrub that can be chewed to get high.

Last Friday, Tennessee Highway Patrol drug interdiction officers caught two men, Mohamed Osman and Abdulqadir Sheikh, with 11 pounds of khat in their trunk. Police said they also had tea leaves to help cover the scent.

"We're learning about it as we go, but it seems like after the synthetic drugs, they always find something new," Graves said.

Khat starts out as a schedule I drug, but if it isn't frozen, it quickly deteriorates to a schedule IV drug.

"It's a flower which mimics a lot of the synthetic narcotics we're seeing," Graves said. "And it does have a psychotic affect on individuals."

The drugs come from the North African peninsula. Investigators said this particular batch was flown from Hong Kong to New York to Atlanta. Osman and Sheikh were then allegedly smuggling it from Atlanta to Kansas City, MO.

"You know, we do need to toughen up on our borders," Graves said. "And that's a big problem is drugs and narcotics right now."

Police said they expect to see more khat in this country.

"It's a never-ending battle, but as you can see, everybody is dedicated into not losing," Graves said.

According to the DEA, khat abuse can lead to manic behavior, delusions, violence, depression or schizophrenia. Abuse of khat in the U.S. is most prevalent among immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.

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