Texas Police Linked Khat Plant Trade to Terrorism
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Texas law-enforcement arrested several Muslim immigrants after a lengthy investigation found they were growing and selling khat and connected these plant growers to supporters of terrorism.
Khat is a chewable African plant containing two active chemical substances — cathinone and cathine – which have a narcotic effect. Chewing the plant is common among men in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. The chemicals are banned in the United States, although the plant itself is not.
Police suggested that the profits from the sale of khat to Muslims in the Houston area was sent abroad to support terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab. Civil rights advocates say that in this case, over-eager police and prosecution have confused traditional practice with support for terrorism.
Law enforcement officials in Texas came to suspect that revenue from sales of khat, a chewable African plant, may be used to fund Africa-linked-terrorist groups. Investigators have quietly launched a lengthy investigation in Houston, and have arrested several people and seized 1,000 pounds of khat.
iHLS – Israel Homeland Security
The Austin American-Statesman reports that the investigation was initiated when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper stopped two men during a routine traffic stop. The men were chewing green leaves, which prompted a search of the vehicle, leading to an investigation that involves local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Muslim civil rights groups are concerned that the DPS has unfairly portrayed the defendants as terrorists. DPS has included khat on a statewide threat assessment, although khat plant itself is not illegal. Unlike other drugs found in plants like marijuana or opium poppies, the active ingredients in khat loses potency and can completely disappear in a few days.
Khat is native to the Horn of Africa, which may have led Texas state investigators to assume plant sales are benefitting terrorists groups like al-Shabaab, which oprates in Somalia. No evidence has been offered, however, to substantiate the accusation.
