Intoxicant from Africa & Middle East faces heat in India

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, July 19

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Importers of the leaves of the Catha Edulis plant, known as Khat or Miraa, used as an intoxicant in parts of Africa and the Middle East are facing the heat from the Narcotics Control Bureau and other agencies after the plant was notified under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act earlier this year.

According to customs officials, migrants from countries in Africa and Middle East were bringing in small quantities
of Khat as part of their personal baggage for sale to their fellow countrymen living in India. However the quantities entering India went up substantially a few years ago and the Indian Government notified Khat as a drug under the NDPS Act in February this year.

"It is a punishable offence to import Khat into India and international passengers found possessing it would be arrested immediately," a customs official said. Sources in the Narcotics Control Bureau added Khat is now being classified along with ganja and charas as a drug and those possessing it could face up to ten years in prison.

Earlier this month, four people from Ethiopia who are in India on student visas have been arrested following the seizure of 132 kg of Khat leaves valued at around Rs 3 crore. Sources said the drug was declared as green tea and one consignment was sent to Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively. While the intended recipient in Mumbai could not be traced, four people who were to receive the consignment in Kolkata have been detained by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), sources said.

Police sources said, the African drug mafia operating in Mumbai had switched to Khat since the police had turned the heat on synthetic drugs and traditional narcotics like ganja and charas. Khat was supplied by the gang to various places in Mumbai frequented by African and Arab nationals, officials said.

Khat is mainly chewed by addicts for its soporific effect. It is also boiled in water and the infusion drunk to induce euphoria, according to officials here.

The Indian Government had notified khat among the narcotics banned in India after the Madras High Court last year struck down the arrest of some traders since there was no specific prohibition of its consumption and sale.