PAIR IN COURT AFTER EXOTIC DRUGS FOUND

Two people appeared in the Hamilton District Court yesterday charged
with importing and possessing a drug police say has
methamphetamine-like qualities.

An unemployed man , 49, and a housewife, 44, both of Hamilton, face
charges of possessing the drug khat for supply, selling it and
importing it into New Zealand.

They entered no pleas to the charges.

The man's charges relate to an incident on September 7 while his
wife's relate to various periods, including selling the drug between
November 6 and December 7, importing it between November 1 and
December 7 and possessing it for supply on December 7.

The pair were released on bail with the woman due back in court on
December 20 and the man on January 10.

Outside court, Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said while the
drug was widely accepted and available in other communities around
the world, it was illegal in New Zealand.

"It's similar to methamphetamine and is highly addictive," he said.

"It is popular with young people within some immigrant communities in
Hamilton."

Customs investigations manager Bill Perry said the department had
made several seizures of khat.

"The most significant was a shipment of 27kg of khat imported from Australia."

The maximum penalty for importing a Class C drug is eight years'
imprisonment. A Somali student spoken to by the Times scoffed at
police claken to by the Times scoffed at police claims of the danger
from the drug.

"Back home it is like coffee, not methamphetamine -- it gives you an
alert state," he said.

But a Somali community leader said ignorance of the drug's illegal
status was no excuse.

Waikato Somali Friendship Society president Abdinasir Ahmed said it
was up to people to learn the law.

"Yes, in Somalia and east Africa it (khat) is not considered a drug -
but here in New Zealand we know it is and the law must be respected," he said.