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• Khat dealers sentenced to jail

Two men of Somalia descent were sentenced to jail for possession of khat-an East African flowering shrub whose leaves, twigs and shoots are chewed as a stimulant.

Liban A. Moalin, 39, and Yasin A. Wagad, 24, Minneapolis, each got a jail term of five months and 30 days for possession of khat, a non-narcotic, which is a Class H felony.

The two were arrested April 25 in the City of River Falls. As Moalin was putting two packages in his vehicle, River Falls police along with Pierce and St. Croix county deputies, moved in. The car was impounded and, later, after a search warrant was obtained, examined.

What was seized were 99 bundles of khat weighing over 33 pounds. The street value is estimated at close to $10,000.

River Falls police were tipped off about the shipment two days before the incident occurred.

They not only knew when the shipment was coming, they had two investigators go to the Federal Express in St. Paul warehouse to check the shipment's tracking labels, photograph the suspected packages and follow the delivery truck back to River Falls.

In the criminal complaint, Wagad said he didn't know khat was illegal in the United States and he planned to give away the khat to fellow Somalians in the Twin Cities. He denied knowing who paid for the shipment, as it came from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Moalin was sentenced on Wednesday. He was on probation from a khat possession conviction in Madison last November when the incident in River Falls occurred. Therefore, he was sentenced to one year in prison along with one year extended supervision for the Madison charge.

The five-month Pierce County term will be served concurrently with the Madison charge because, explained Pierce County District Attorney John O'Boyle, Moalin will likely be deported once that sentence expires.

Wagad was sentenced in July and placed on three years probation, which was Moalin's initial sentence from the Madison charge. Court records show this was Wagad's first criminal offense.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration website, khat is typically chewed like tobacco. It's then kept in the cheek, where it releases an active drug. Common side effects include anorexia, insomnia and gastric disorders, and chronic abuse can result in symptoms such as physical exhaustion, violence and suicidal depression.

Khat is legal in much of Europe, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with a majority of its users coming from the Middle East region.