EIGHTEEN BRITONS ARRESTED IN U.S. ON DRUGS CHARGES

LONDON (Reuters) - Eighteen Britons have been arrested in the United
States since June on suspicion of importing qat, a substance which is
legal in Britain but is an illegal drug in America, Britain said on
Friday.

The people arrested were all from West Yorkshire and were caught at a
variety of locations throughout the United States, the Foreign Office
said.

``We understand they were approached and asked to carry luggage to the
United States,'' a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office told Reuters.

Qat, a leaf from a plant of the same name, is a natural stimulant
which is chewed and has the properties of a mild amphetamine.