By David Weiss [email protected]
Source: Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County jury Wednesday evening decided Shafi Brmaji knew the 52 pounds of the rare drug he was lugging from New York City to Michigan was illegal.

The jury deliberated for about three hours in finding Brmaji, 43, guilty of possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

The issue of the two-day trial was whether Brmaji knew the rare drug, called “khat,” contained substances outlawed in Pennsylvania.

The term “khat” does not appear on the state’s list of illegal drugs.

But the khat contains cathinone and cathine, which are on the list.

Brmaji, along with his attorney, Nanda Palissery, told the jury he had no clue khat contained those substances.

But Assistant District Attorney Frank McCabe and state Trooper Louis Rossi argued Brmaji knew he was carrying an illegal drug back to his clothing store to sell.

It was the county’s first case involving the drug.

Khat is a natural stimulant from plants grown in Africa and Arabia. The leaves are typically chewed like tobacco and produce a mild cocaine- or amphetamine-like euphoria that is much less potent than either substance.

But Brmaji, an Ethiopian who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years, testified Wednesday he used it for making tea.

He never had any intention to sell the khat, he said.

And he never knew it contained the illegal substances, he said.

Rossi found the drugs, a scale, and $3,000 cash after stopping Brmaji for traveling 75 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 80 in Sugarloaf Township.

He said he went to New York City to buy clothing for his store.

He ended up with no clothes on this trip. But he came upon the khat inside a grocery store.

He bought so much because he used it all the time in Ethiopia but has been unable to find it in the U.S.

And the scale police found was to weigh luggage, he said.

It was the second time Brmaji faced a trial in the case. A jury in May 2006 deadlocked on the charges.

McCabe and Rossi said the case would have been much simpler had the drug been marijuana or cocaine. They believe the rarity of the drug made prosecution and jury deliberations much more difficult.

Court of Common Pleas Judge Chester Muroski allowed Brmaji to stay free pending his sentencing in January.

McCabe said he is unsure on what type of sentence Brmaji faces because he is unsure what category the drug will fall into.
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David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.