ETHIOPIAN ACCUSED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING

An Ethiopian man faces a felony drug charge for importing a stimulant
that is commonly used in his own country, but illegal here.

Liban A. Moalin, 37, of Fitchburg, faces up to six years in prison on
the drug trafficking charge.

According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday, Moalin knew the
drug Khat was illegal in the U.S. He said he was only acting as a
middleman for the importation of the drug, for which he received some
of it for personal use.

Moalin was arrested on Jan. 25 after federal customs officers alerted
Dane County Narcotics to three suspicious cardboard boxes being sent
by Federal Express from Europe.

According to the criminal complaint, two of the boxes were mailed to
Moalin's Whispering Pines residence in Fitchburg. A third was mailed
to a Johnson Street address in Madison.

Before they were mailed, police determined that the boxes contained
about 56 pounds of Khat, a plant native to East Africa and southern
Arabia. The drug is legal in many countries, where it is chewed to
alleviate fatigue and reduce appetite.

The plant, however, contains two chemicals, Cathinone and Cathine,
that are controlled substances in the U.S. According to the
complaint, overuse of Khat can cause manic behavior, grandiose
illusions or paranoia.

Officers with the Dane County task force delivered the boxes to
Moalin's home, then raided the residence.