Officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DR) have identified two wanted kingpins of the Khat leaves (drugs) smuggling racket in India. The wanted duo is Ethiopian nationals who operate from Mumbai and are currently under hiding after their syndicate got busted. Also, the officials fear that with Khat leaves now been brought under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the trend may shift to the traffic of Kratom and Salvia Divinorum leaves, which gives a similar effect like Khat. On July 10, an Ethiopia based person (name withheld) had exported 132 kilograms of Catha Edulis alias Mira Leaves alias Kath Leaves valued at Rs 3.4 crore. The said consignment reached Mumbai and Kolkata on July 13. The said leaves were declared as Green Tea and were sent as EMS speed post parcels to Mumbai and Kolkata. Kath leaves and tops are chewed or, less frequently, dried and consumed as tea, to achieve a state of euphoria and stimulation. Making a major breakthrough in the case, DRI sleuths had on Thursday arrested Ethiopian nationals Amir Abdul Razzak, 27, a dentist by profession, Abdul Aziz Yusuf Umar, 29, and Yemeni national Ahmed Mirai, 32, a management student studying in Hyderabad. On Thursday another consignment of 40 kilograms of Khat leaves worth Rs 1 crore had come from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, which was received by Mirai, officials said. Abdul Aziz, a resident of Malviya Nagar in Delhi, used to pick delivery of contraband and hand it over to Razzak. From Abdul Aziz the agency had seized a fake card of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The card bore Abdul Aziz's photograph with a fake name. "Our probe has revealed that two Ethiopian nationals, Nabeel Umar and Kunju, pulls the strings of this cartel and operated from Mumbai. They are the main importers of the Khat leaves in Indian and are currently on the run. They are the ones who finally receive this contraband from the arrested persons and sells them to local African peddlers and consumers. They would also export the said leaves to the United States. They would charge at least 1000 USD per kilogram for Khat leaves from their clients," said a source. The agency sources said that after the Khat leaves were banned on February 27, 2018, and was brought under the ambit of NDPS, the trend might shift to other similar plants. "Now that Khat leaves are covered under NDPS, the trend might shift to the traffic of Kratom and/or Salvia Divinorum, two popular plant-based new psychoactive substances (NPS). These plants are currently not covered under NDPS and are also easily available on the Internet and have significant psychoactive effects. They are often sold as herbal infusions and come in proper packaging, which is often to mislead," said an agency source. The syndicate operates on Pan India basis run by foreign nationals having their associates operating from Mumbai, Kolkatta, Jaipur, Delhi, and Nepal, officials said. ALTERNATIVES Officials fear that tends may shift to Kratom and Salvia Divinorum, two popular plant-based new psychoactive substances . These plants are currently not covered under NDPS and are easily available

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