Jury deadlocked on drug case involving khat plant

Jury deadlocked on drug case involving khat plant

Saturday, 06 May 2006

By PAUL KRUPSKI WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County’s first prosecution of drug charges involving the khat plant that contains a stimulant narcotic similar to amphetamine ended in a deadlocked jury and mistrial. Assistant District Attorney Robert Trichilo said Friday he intended to get the case against Shafi Haji-Hussein Brmaji listed for re-trial in June after 11 jurors couldn’t convince the 12th member of the panel to vote guilty. The Luzerne County Drug Task Force said it has not made an arrest or had a case involving the use of khat. Brmaji, 41, of Wyoming, Mich., was stopped for speeding in a rented minivan on Interstate 80 westbound at mile marker 254 in Sugarloaf Township at 8:25 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2004. Trooper Louis Rossi Jr. said he clocked the minivan at 75 mph in a 65-mph zone. Brmaji told Rossi he had been to New York City to buy clothing for his store. The trooper said he observed a large U-haul box in the van but no retail clothing. He decided to issue a written warning for the violation. While perusing the rental agreement for the vehicle, Rossi said he noticed the defendant picked up the minivan in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 2 at 9:21 a.m. and thought it was a quick turn-around time for a business trip. Being familiar with the use of the interstate as a corridor for drug trafficking, Rossi said he prepared a search consent form and contacted Cpl. Terry Jankouskas to assist. Rossi gave Brmaji the written warning and asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle. The defendant replied negatively and his consent was sought to do a search. Written consent was obtained. Police found an open tan plastic shopping bag of dried green vegetables, suspected as being khat, between the front seats. A black plastic shopping bag found behind the front seats contained “freshly harvested plants green and red in color” and wrapped in a broad-sized leaf, and a large digital scale. Rossi said the large box contained 270 individual, kitchen-sized Ziploc plastic bags of dry green material and that $3,370 was found in the center console compartment. Brmaji was taken into custody and the van was towed to the Hazleton state police station. The contraband weighed 52 pounds. A state police chemical analyst testified all the khat contained cathinone and cathine, which are controlled substances and illegal to possess without a prescription in Pennsylvania. The expert said they are also highly addictive. Brmaji is Ethiopian. He said he lived in Michigan since coming to the United States 16 years ago and becoming a citizen. He said he went to New York to purchase heavy jackets and clothing for his store from wholesalers to save money. He testified he didn’t find the clothing he wanted and stopped at an African grocery store in midtown Manhattan, where he bought the entire supply of already packaged khat for $330. He maintained it would last him seven months and that he made the purchase because khat wasn’t readily available and he was only able to purchase it in New York and Detroit. Brmaji said khat was legally consumed in his native country and he used the substance his entire life. He said a bag of khat made one pot of tea. The substance can also be chewed. The jury was told Khat produces a mild cocaine or amphetamine-like euphoria. Jankouskas testified the preservation of this batch of khat was done professionally. Defense attorney James Scallion argued his client knew he had khat but didn’t know it was a controlled substance. “He bought a commodity, a spice for tea,” Scallion said. Trichilo asked what was more plausible: that he purchased the khat for his own use or that he was a drug dealer. Trichilo said cathinone is in the same classification as heroin and marijuana. He said cathine is classified with amphetamines and Valium. He questioned why anyone would drive a rented vehicle non-stop for 12 hours to buy “hip-hop” clothing without knowing it was there, not check into a hotel and decide to drive back to Michigan without any sleep.” Brmaji said he bought the scale at a different store to weigh his luggage prior to taking trips back to Ethiopia. “I don’t know what he puts in his luggage, Airports have scales,” Trichilo said. He said, “The defendant is living here 16 years, owns a business and doesn’t know it’s illegal. There was something more going on here.” Research done by investigators revealed khat is cultivated as a cash crop throughout the Horn of Africa, where chewing the substance is an ancient tradition. The leaves and shoots are at their highest potency within 48 hours of harvesting. When chewed, the juice is swallowed with the residue stored inside the mouth until the cheek bulges. The general effect is a euphoria and excitement that encourages talkativeness. Side effects from chewing khat include anorexia, cancer of the mouth, disorientation, hallucination, hyperactivity, impotence, insomnia and outbursts of irrational violence. The Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 controls cathinone and cathine but not the khat plant itself. Officials said there is a huge market for khat in countries where it is legal and among ethnic groups in countries where it is outlawed. The Drug Enforcement Agency said seizures at Kennedy and Newark Airports are only the “tip of the iceberg” on khat imports. The agency said khat traffickers potentially smuggle $500 million of the substance through the two airports in one year. Several suspects arrested in New York told authorities proceeds from the sale of khat are sent overseas via wire transfers and are used to finance al-Qaida and other terrorist networks. Officials estimate khat smuggled into the U.S. produces an illegal cash flow exceeding $1.5 billion annually.