The khat 'gold rush': UK dealers race to cash in before drug used in community rituals is made illegal

BRITAIN is being flooded with tonnes of a potentially dangerous stimulant drug in a last minute ‘gold rush’ before it is banned.

These pictures show how dealers are racing to cash in on the thriving market for khat before it is made illegal next year.

In just one delivery last week 160,000 sticks of the mind-bending drug were delivered to a warehouse in Southall, West London.

Every week it receives four deliveries from Kenya, thought to be worth a total of almost £2m, with each stick selling for £3 and a box of 40 costing £35.

There are believed to be several other importers in Britain, profiting from a thriving but little-known trade estimated to be worth at least £80million a year.

The capital’s Somali community is one of the biggest markets for the plant which is chewed to deliver a stimulant rush.

Officials fear chaos next year when the drug is outlawed in line with other countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the U.S.

In July, Home Secretary Theresa May said she will make it a class C drug after hearing concerns it could be linked to mental illness and psychosis.

Those caught possessing it will face up to two years in prison, the same penalty as users of anabolic steroids and ketamine.

The drug, pictured at the warehouse, is sold in the UK for £3 per stick and creates a high when chewed

There are also concerns that the trade helps support Al Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group behind the recent Nairobi mall atrocity.

Campaigner Abukar Awale, a former addict, said: ‘There is a big gold rush going. Every one of them is rushing to sell as much khat as they can before the ban comes in.

‘My concern is that, as it is legal, people think it is safe. It destroys people. The Home Office is protecting vulnerable communities.

Every week the warehouse, pictured, receives four deliveries from Kenya, thought to be worth a total of almost £2m

‘Khat took seven years of my life. Days become months, months become years. I lost my confidence and became aggressive and paranoid.

‘This is what khat does to a young man. Its availability in cafes segregates Somali youngsters from wider society.’

Khat is a flowering shrub that produces a mild high when chewed and is popular in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa, where Islam outlaws alcohol.

It is harvested early in the morning, sorted and then wrapped in banana leaves to keep fresh ready for use.

Users chew the bitter oval leaves and young shoots of the plant, swallowing juice and storing the residue in their cheek.

They contain the drug cathinone, an addictive stimulant with effects similar to but less intense than that of methamphetamine or cocaine.

The main effects are euphoria and stimulation but the side effects can include disorientation, hallucination and hyperactivity.

Campaigners believe the drug may be linked to mental illness and make users more vulnerable to being influenced by fundamentalists who peddle it.

Experts estimate there are dozens of khat cafes across Britain where young men chew the drug in relative privacy.

Many supporters say it does little harm and the vast majority of users lead ordinary lives and provide for their families.

News of the scale of its use emerged as Miss May is being sued by a khat supplier, who has the backing of the Kenyan Government.

Theresa May announced in July that the drug is being outlawed in line with other countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the U.S.

Documents lodged at the High Court claim the ban breaches the human rights of khat users and said Miss May should have followed advice to keep the drug legal.

The decision to ban khat in Britain caused uproar in Kenya where it is an important source of export income and supports thousands of farmers.

In July, Miss May said she feared Britain has become an international hub for khat trafficking.

She said: ‘Failure to take decisive action and change the UK’s legislative position would place the UK at a serious risk of becoming a single, regional hub for the illegal onward trafficking of khat.

‘The Government is concerned that we risk underestimating the actual harms of khat in our communities owing to the limitations of the evidence base available.’

This story was first published by the Daily Star Sunday following an idea by Lapido Media.