14 arrested in link to African drug ring
Fourteen Seattle-area residents were arrested Wednesday for their alleged involvement in an international ring that the government says smuggled several tons of khat, an illegal stimulant, into the country from East Africa.
Federal and local law-enforcement agents raided 17 King County locations early Wednesday as part of "Operation Somalia Express," a federal investigation the New York office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began 18 months ago, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Most of the targets are Somali immigrants, and four of the suspects remained at large Wednesday.
Investigators allege the operation smuggled at least 25 tons of khat, with a street value of more than $10 million, into the United States.
Five months ago, New York-based DEA agents linked Seattle suspects to the operation, which involved human couriers and overnight shippers such as Federal Express delivering bundles of frozen khat and fresh khat wrapped in banana leaves.
"What we saw was an organization operating with businesslike efficiency on an international scale," said Rodney Benson, special agent in charge of the DEA's Seattle field office.
Largely unknown to Americans, khat or qat (pronounced "cot") is a common and socially accepted drug in Somalia, Yemen, Kenya and Ethiopia. Most users chew it and experience a mild buzz that lasts for about 90 minutes. It also can elevate heart rates and blood pressure.
It is illegal in the United States because it can contain cathonine or cathine, which are controlled substances.
Investigators said the smuggled khat was sent by plane from Kenya and Ethiopia to Europe. Shipments from several European locations then arrived daily in locations around King County.
According to a federal search warrant, Federal Express has records of more than 100 suspected khat shipments since January 2006 from Italian shippers to three of the Seattle locations raided Wednesday.
The search warrant said Mahamoud Omar Jama, 36, of Kent, was the leader of the khat-smuggling "cell" in Seattle — which had 18 members, all named in an indictment unsealed Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle.
The others indicted for conspiracy to import and distribute khat are Abdiweli Shanle Mahamed, 42, SeaTac; Abdiselam Mohamed Gelle, 50, Seattle; Abdifatah Hussien, 23, Tukwila; Ali M. Ismail, 42, Seattle; Ibrahim Shire Weyne, 37, Seattle; Abdulaahi Ahmed, 34, Seattle; Abdirashid Abdi, 31, Seattle; Gedi Omar Warsame, 38, Seattle; Mohamed Issac, age unavailable, Seattle; Abdifaath Muusse, 31, Seattle; Liban Said Hagi, 30, SeaTac; Khalid Abdi Ali, 38, Seattle; Jama Mohamed Absiya, 29, Seattle; Ali Mirreh Dualeh, 43, Kent; Abdigafar Hassan, 42, Seattle; Bashir Dahir Budul, 40, Seattle; and Abuubakar Ali, 42, Seattle.
A New York indictment charged 44 more people in seven states and the District of Columbia with taking part in the ring. Five men also were charged with money laundering.
The men allegedly used informal finance systems known as "hawalas" to move money between khat buyers and sellers in the United States. They then wired millions of dollars to accounts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to pay suppliers in Europe and Africa.
Investigators said there are no indications the money was used to pay for terrorist activities.
Overseas, khat is seen as a social ill but an acceptable one. England considered a ban on khat this year but decided against it.
Caleb Banta-Green, a research scientist at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington, says khat isn't a major problem in Seattle. In 2005, there were no emergency-room admissions in King or Snohomish counties for khat abuse, he said.
Banta-Green says people are motivated to use khat for the same reasons many Americans drink coffee — to keep themselves energized throughout the day.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or dbowermaster@seattletimes.com; Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@sseattletimes.com.
