Hyderabad: Yemeni students arrested for selling Khat leaves

Three men, including two Yemeni students, were today arrested for selling Khat leaves, a banned narcotic substance, in the city, police said today.

Sleuths of Commissioner's Task Force apprehended Mohammd Ahmed Abdullah Abu Munassar and Hassan Ali Hassan Ali Jereb, who hail from Yemen, and Bansat Seetaram Rahate, hailing from Mumbai, near Langar House area here and seized 100 bundles of Khat leaves (worth one lakh rupees), a car and three cell phones.

They procured the Khat leaves from Ethiopia and Yemen through Mumbai and sold in Hyderabad, said Police Deputy Commissioner B Limba Reddy.

"The contraband is procured as vegetables by cargo plane from Ethiopia and Yemen. Munassar purchased Khat leaves for Rs 400 a bundle from his contact in Mumbai and sold here for Rs 1,400 to 1,500. Most of his customers are the nationals of Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia living in Hyderabad city," Reddy said.