Police detect organic drug "khat" being smuggled into Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have detected an organic drug in the from of leaves called 'Khat', which is used by chewing by people in the Middle East, being smuggled into the country on a big scale.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the drug was smuggled into the country by the syndicate through courier service by declaring it as tea or henna leaves.
He said examination by the Chemistry Department found that the leaves contained cathinone, an intoxicating substance just like ephedrine and amphetamine.
"It's a new drug and is smuggled into Malaysia for the use of the Middle eastern community here and they chew it to get high. We are afraid that, if not controlled, the use of this drug will also become rampant among local addicts," he told reporters here today.
He said the detection was made possible following the arrest of four men, two of whom were Yemen and United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals nabbed at the KL International Airport last Wednesday.

Noor Rashid said all of the suspects, aged between 19 and 54, were now being investigated under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a mandatory death penalty.
He said police had also seized 10 boxes of the leaves, weighing 90.78kg and worth RM50,000, believed smuggled from Uganda.
"Initial investigation found that the Yemeni man had entered the country several week ago using a social visit pass, while the man from UAE was found to be a student of a private college in the city," he said.
He said the two other suspects were locals and police believed more locals were involved in the smuggling of the drug.
He also gave assurance that police would continue monitoring the situation and taking necessary action to combat the crime. – Bernama