http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/artic ... m?id=21441



"Khat has been illegal in the United States since 1993. Fresh leaves are chewed like tobacco. The drug comes from an evergreen shrub that grows in east Africa and southern Arabia. The plant is most popular among immigrants from Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia, according to a University of Pennsylvania study. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, chronic use of khat can cause violent behavior and suicidal depression.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, possession of more than 45 pounds of khat is punishable by up to 16 months in prison."





Metro man gets special delivery
Meg Heaton Hudson Star-Observer
Published Thursday, January 04, 2007
Despite the hundreds of packages handled daily at Hudson’s The UPS Store during this holiday season, one stood out to owner Alvin Snyder and his staff, and for good reason.

It was full of the illegal drug known as “khat.” The plant’s leaves are chewed to induce an amphetamine-like high.

Snyder called the Hudson Police Department just after lunch on Dec. 11 to report that his business had received a package earlier that day that he suspected contained illegal drugs. The man to whom the package was addressed was Abdi-Deeq Sheikh Ahmed Imankey, 27, of Minneapolis. He had been to the store at 808 Carmichael Road already once that morning asking about the package but Snyder had told him it was not ready for pickup yet.
Abdi-Deeq Sheikh Ahmed Imankey
Abdi-Deeq Sheikh Ahmed Imankey
Police inspected the large brown cardboard box, which was labeled in several places with the word “khat,” taped closed with clear tape and then placed in a plastic bag. According to the police report, the box was soft to the touch like it had been wet or moist. A hole in one side of it revealed what appeared to be several pieces of a plant-like substance.

While waiting for additional officers from the HPD and the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department to arrive, an unsuspecting Imankey returned to the The UPS Store in an attempt to pick up his package. Snyder again told him it was not ready and that he should return later. He was observed waiting with another man in a van in the parking lot.

While Hudson police officers Sgt. Marty Jensen and Officer Steve Dunn took up positions in front of and in back of The UPS Store, St. Croix County Investigator Mike Gifford stayed inside the store to wait for Imankey’s return. Imankey came into the store, then left the store when he was approached by Gifford. Imankey was taken into custody at gunpoint in the parking lot in front of the store. His companion, Saleh Muriai Maye, 32, of Minneapolis was also taken into custody.

Both men were booked at the St. Croix County Jail on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver of a non-narcotic substance and were ordered to appear in court later this month.

Change of address

The Hudson Police Department received a second report involving Imankey on Dec. 15 from U.S. Postal Inspector Jesse Swanson.

According to a report by HPD Det. Shawn Pettee, Swanson said Imankey called the post office on Dec. 14, three days after his arrest at The UPS Store, stating that he was expecting a package to be delivered to the store addressed to Latifa Keith. Imankey said he didn’t want the post office to deliver the package as he had requested. Swanson said Imankey was told that he could pick the package up at the post office at 808 Heggen St. in person.

On Dec. 15, Swanson brought the package, addressed to “L. Keith,” to the HPD, and a search warrant was obtained from the St. Croix County district attorney’s office. The package weighed approximately 14.4 pounds.

Together with investigators from the sheriff’s department and agents from the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, Hudson police officers set up surveillance at the post office that afternoon. Swanson called Imankey and told him his package was ready for pickup. Imankey said he would pick up the package that afternoon. He never showed. Police repeated their surveillance on Saturday, Dec. 16, but Imankey was a no-show.

The following Monday, Pettee was advised that a 9-pound package originating in London and addressed to Imankey was received at the Hudson Post Office. Post office personnel called Imankey to tell him his package had arrived but Imankey said he no longer wanted it, saying the contents were “for his cousin, instead of him.” He went on to say that he would decline any future packages from overseas.

The second package is in the custody of the Hudson Police Department and its contents are being analyzed.

A state trooper made the first khat-related arrested in St. Croix County last spring. The Chicago man charged in that case pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor last month.

Khat has been illegal in the United States since 1993. Fresh leaves are chewed like tobacco. The drug comes from an evergreen shrub that grows in east Africa and southern Arabia. The plant is most popular among immigrants from Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia, according to a University of Pennsylvania study. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, chronic use of khat can cause violent behavior and suicidal depression.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, possession of more than 45 pounds of khat is punishable by up to 16 months in prison.