Somalis, Finally Free of Qaad

[Abdulladiif Al-Fiqih]

Besides the negative impact it might bring to our community-negative publicity, I believe this will be a good thing for us somalis. This is becoming a disease in community nowadays and unless those who brings into our homes are presecuted, it will continue forever. We shouldn't feel sympathy for the qaat dealers even if they are our own families. I believe the only way to get rid of this disease is to work with the authorities and turn in anyone whos dealing it unlike this guy called Omar Jamal whos trying to make excuses for them.

 

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Bob Von Sternberg and Marisa Taylor,

McClatchy News Service

 

To hear the 10 Somali men tell it in federal court Wednesday, they've been modestly scraping by financially in the Twin Cities, working as barbers, store clerks and translators.

 

 

To hear federal officials tell their story, they form the heart of a multi-million-dollar khat-smuggling ring, the biggest ever uncovered in the United States.

 

The 10 men and four other Minnesotans are among 44 members of the ring, accused in a New York indictment of smuggling more than 25 tons of khat from Africa into the United States since December 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday.

 

Another 18 people were indicted in Seattle on similar charges.

 

Khat is a natural plant stimulant that is typically chewed. Its use is illegal in the United States.

 

Thirty-one members of the group have been arrested. Three of those identified as the organization's leaders --Bashi Muse, Ali Awad and Abdi Emil Moge -- live in Minnesota. "Most of the big players are right here," said Tom Kelly, the DEA's Minneapolis spokesman. "It's not surprising, considering the size of the [somali] population."

 

In 2004, the Minnesota state demographer estimated that 25,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, though some Somali estimates are more than twice that.

 

They have come to the metro area for more than a decade, bringing remnants of their culture. One of those is chewing khat, legal in many countries, but illegal in the United States.

 

"I think it is very sad because khat is part of the basic fabric of Somali culture and has been used from time immemorial," said Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul.

 

About two dozen Somalis attended the 10 Minnesota defendants' initial court appearance Thursday afternoon. "We feel it shouldn't be illegal, so there's a strong sense they're completely innocent," Jamal said.

 

Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, said he believes fewer than 10 percent of Somalis in the state use khat. "I don't think the use is growing and it's not very visible," he said. "Especially by young people who were born here. And young people can find much stronger drugs that are out there."

 

A Hazelden report on drug abuse trends last month found that khat is a fixture in the local Somali community, although no estimate exists on users. "It seems like it's almost exclusively used in Minneapolis and Rochester," said Carol Falkowski, who compiled the report.

 

According to the report, last year the customs service seized 3,485 pounds of khat worth $1.25 million coming into Minnesota.

 

At a Wednesday hearing in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Magistrate Janie Mayerson ordered six defendants held at least until Friday. In addition to Awad and Moge, they were identified as Ismail Ali Mohamed, Ahmed Ismail, Hussein Ahmed Mohamed and Warfa Abdi Dirie. Muse was not in court, having been arrested Tuesday in New York.

 

Four others -- Weli Mohamed Abdi, Abdiazis Salah Mohamed, Omar Osman Mohamed and Abdinur Ahmed Dahir -- were released on $25,000 bond.

 

Three other Minnesotans have not yet been arrested.

 

The 18-month probe, dubbed "Operation Somalia Express," was announced Wednesday in New York City. "With these arrests an international trafficking organization that had a monopoly on the khat drug distribution across the nation has been dismantled," said DEA special agent in charge John Gilbride.

 

According to the indictment, the organization shipped khat from Africa to several western European countries and on to New York, using express mail packages or couriers who flew on commercial airlines. The fourth ringleader, identified as Osman Osman, was employed at the United Nations and used U.N. diplomatic pouches to smuggle the plant into the United States, authorities allege.

 

From there, the drug was distributed to Minnesota, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, Utah, Washington, Illinois and the District of Columbia.

 

Once the khat was sold on the street, proceeds from the sales were laundered through "hawalas," informal networks used in Africa and the Middle East to transfer money. The ring wired money to bank accounts in Dubai, the indictment said.

 

FBI assistant director Mark Mershon said in New York City that the investigation continues in pursuit of "the ultimate destiny of the funds," which intelligence suggests is based in "countries in east Africa which are a hotbed for Sunni extremism and a wellspring for terrorists associated with Al-Qaida."

 

The indictments don't allege any terrorism activities.

 

According to the DEA, the group threatened violence against members and customers. According to the indictment, Bashi Muse left a voicemail on the phone of a customer, saying, "be prepared for your death. I swear to God you will die."

 

 

Bob von Sternberg • vonste@startribune.com

 

Source: Star Tribune, July 27, 2006

[Socod_badne]

This is my Khaat. There are many like it but this one is mine. My Khaat is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my khaat is useless. Without my khaat I am useless. I must gnaw my khaat true. Before Allah I swear this creed: my khaat and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.

 

 

P.S. Co-opted from US Marines Chant