Four khat smugglers on the same flight

The customs at Gardermoen revealed 111 kilos of khat from four air passengers on Thursday morning. Photo: Tolletaten

Customs at Oslo airport revealed four khat smugglers on the same flight on Thursday morning

The customs officers confiscated close to 112 kilos of khat from a single flight.

 

The biggest seizure was from a Swedish national of Somali origin. The lady (35) passed through customs in a wheelchair. In two suitcases, the customs officers found a total of 39.4 kilos of khat.

The customs also uncovered 37.8 kilos of khat in two large suitcases belonging to a Dutch airline passenger (37). He informed the customs officials that he was on a two day holiday trip and was visiting some friends in Norway.

A Latvian national (33), resident in Sweden, said that his suitcase contained green plants. The customs officials uncovered 19.3 kilos of khat inside his suitcase.

An Australian Somalian man (30) said he was to visit a relative in Norway and stay here for three days. The check of his two suitcases revealed 15.2 kilo of the drug, which the man explained to be herbs to be consumed as infusion.

Office manager in the Customs Administration at Oslo airport, Hans Wilhelmsen, states that customs officials previously have uncovered up to four unrelated drug couriers on the same flight, but that it is a rarity.

The four suspected smugglers were handed over to the Gardermoen police station after the customs seizures.

What is Khat? (Wikipedia)

Khat (Catha edulis, qat from Arabic: القات‎) is a flowering plant native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is used as a stimulant and it is a controlled substance in many countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a drug of abuse.
Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a drug of abuse that can produce psychological dependence, although the WHO does not consider khat addiction to be seriously problematic. The plant has been targeted by anti-drug organizations such as the DEA. It is a controlled substance in some countries, such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States (de facto), while its production, sale, and consumption are legal in other nations, including Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. Consumption of the plant’s leaves in its natural state is also permitted in Israel. Among communities from the areas where the plant is native, khat chewing has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years.

 

© Tolletaten / Norway Today