Nearly tenfold increase in seizures of Khat since 2000

Relatively mild stimulant favoured by East Africans

print this

Seizures of the drug Khat have increased nearly tenfold during the present decade. Finnish customs authorities say that this suggests a sharp increase in the use of the illegal stimulant in Finland.
      Khat - the stems and leaves of the Katha Edulis bush native to the east of Africa - is chewed for the stimulant effect.
      The psychoactive effect of the plant diminishes rapidly after being cut. To get the full effect, the stems and leaves need to be consumed fresh - within a week after being cut.
      Customs chief Mika Pitkäniemi took part in an international meeting in April, which revealed that Finland is in first place among ten countries in seizures of khat.
      Pitkäniemi sees two reasons why Finland confiscates more khat than countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden.
      He says that Finns are fairly skilful at profiling possible drug couriers. Another reason is that, many countries are not as interested in stopping Khat smuggling as Finland is.
      Pitkäniemi does not believe that there would be more Khat coming into Finland than to other countries.
     
Police and customs authorities in Finland last year confiscated 3,283 kilos of Khat. According to the authorities, this would have been enough for more than 10,000 individual doses.
      Most of the seizures of the drug were at airports. Finnish customs considers khat smuggling to be a problem because it diverts resources that could be used for investigating more serious crimes.
      Customs authorities at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport report seizing Khat shipments at least once a week from individual couriers who carry between 15 and 20 kilos of the plant in a suitcase. The smugglers, who are almost always foreigners, are usually fined and expelled from Finland the same day.
      The court process usually takes place without the defendant being present. A notice of the fine is sent to the courier's home country, and is usually not paid.
     
The law would give Finnish officials the right to detain the smugglers, but this usually does not happen.
      "The use of tough coercive measures would be unreasonable, because the couriers are usually foreigners who have been deceived into the activity, to some extent", says Markku Juote, a crime investigator for Finnish Customs.
      Customs authorities say that the mules are usually paid between EUR 200 and 300. They are told that the risk of being caught is small, and that the only punishment is expulsion from Finland.
     
Khat is classified as illegal in most European Union countries. However, it is legal in Britain and The Netherlands. Most imports of the substance to other European countries takes place through those two countries.
      Finnish customs report that a bundle of Khat weighing 150 grammes costs EUR 3-5 in London. In Finland the same amount would cost EUR 15-25.


Links:
  Khat (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat