Border officers have made another large seizure of khat at Calgary International Airport.
On Monday, Canada Border Services Agency officers intercepted nearly 60 kilograms of khat, a plant-based stimulant that’s illegal in Canada.
CBSA said the plants were bundled inside the checked luggage of a British man and a woman from Toronto who arrived in Calgary on a flight from the United Kingdom.
Khat is legal in the U.K., but is considered a controlled substance in Canada.
Khat is a plant that can have a mild hallucinogenic effect when its leaves are chewed. Khat is grown mainly in Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia. Police said demand for it here is fuelled mainly by immigrants from those countries.
Chewing khat can produce feelings of euphoria and increased alertness, but authorities warn that excessive consumption can cause slurred speech, staggering and violence.
Daoud Ahmed, 50, of Bristol, England, and Sadia Muka Osman, 40, have been charged with importation and possession of khat for the purpose of trafficking.
Monday’s case is the second recent significant seizure of khat at the Calgary airport.
On Jan. 19, CBSA seized 30 kilograms of khat from a man arriving in Calgary from the U.K.
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