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September 18, 2001Somali jailed in TC on drug charge- Man stranded here on way to Minneapolis held after police prevent him from boarding planeTRAVERSE CITY - Traverse City police, along with agents from the FBI, arrested a Somali citizen at the Cherry Capital Airport Friday after police found what is believed to be 150 pounds of an organic drug popular in Africa and the Middle East.Suleiman Elmi Fareh was attempting to board a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis when police questioned him because he appeared suspicious, said FBI Special Agent Richard Licht of the bureau's East Lansing office. Fareh was in Traverse City because he had been on a flight bound for Minneapolis that was diverted Tuesday morning, Licht said. He was questioned Friday, as travel resumed across the country amid heightened security following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. "The Traverse City Police thought that something wasn't right with this guy and they started to interview him and they still felt that something wasn't right," Licht said. Fareh was arrested for violation of a controlled substance. The Immigration and Naturalization Service also put a detainer on Fareh because he is a Somali citizen with non-status in the United States and is a deportable alien, according to a press release. Fareh is accused of carrying about 150 pounds of khat, or Catha Edulis, in his luggage. Khat is popular in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where its use predates coffee and serves in a social context similar to coffee. Chewed in moderation, khat alleviates fatigue and reduces appetite. Compulsive use may result in manic behavior with grandiose delusions or in a paranoid type of illness, according to www.streetdrugs.org. |
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