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An Ethiopian in Utah pleads guilty to illegal narcotic charges

By Geoffrey Fattah, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The second of two Ethiopian refugees charged with conspiring to import more than 400 pounds of an exotic plant used as a drug has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

During a plea hearing on Thursday Sherif Kadir Sirage, also known as Sherif Sherif, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import a controlled substance into the United States.

Prosecutors claim Sirage and Patrick Bahati arranged to have 400 pounds of a plant called khat flown into Salt Lake City from Ethiopia. Khat is a flowering evergreen shrub that is chewed like tobacco in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is considered a narcotic and is illegal in the United States as well as parts of Europe, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The plant’s effect on the human body is similar to that of ephedra.

Sirage admitted that he and Bahati planned to sell the khat to people in the Salt Lake area who come from the Ethiopian region.

Last month, Bahati pleaded guilty to the same charge. Sirage is scheduled to be sentenced May 21.
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5 thoughts on “An Ethiopian in Utah pleads guilty to illegal narcotic charges

  1. First of all, Salt lake city is in UTAH not in NEVADA.
    I think people should respect the Law of USA and abide by them.We see so many immigrants from Ethiopia are being trapped by selling khat.Stop that and do something legal and safe.

  2. 5. Why on earth? Remember back home the excuse was: Yet yekadale? Here in the USA too? Please think! We have a lot of things to do here and help our family instead of chewing chat and wasting the precious time. Remember, in the USA selling illegal drugs is a Felony not a misdemeanor you can imagine the consequence…..

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