Eighteen people have been charged in what prosecutors say was a khat-trafficking ring that distributed thousands of pounds of the drug in the Washington region and other areas.
Authorities say the ring trafficked more than 4.4 million grams — or about 9,700 pounds — of khat. Ten people were arrested Wednesday in Northern Virginia, two in Maryland, four in New York and two Ohio.
A criminal complaint filed against them in federal court in Alexandria was unsealed after the accused traffickers were taken into custody.
They paid couriers to transport khat into the United States from England, Canada and Holland, or sent packages of khat through the mail, the complaint says.
Khat is an illegal narcotic that’s typically chewed like tobacco, but it can also be smoked or sprinkled on food, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. It contains the drug cathinone and is classified as a Schedule I narcotic, like drugs that include PCP and ecstasy.
Prosecutors named Yonis Ishak, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia who lives in Arlington, as the ring’s leader.
All of those arrested have been charged with conspiracy to distribute cathinone. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison.
