Suspect charged with possession of unusual Middle Eastern drug

TRENTON, Georgia (WDEF) – A deputy in Dade County made an unusual drug bust over the weekend.

He pulled the vehicle over on I 24 on Saturday for tinted windows.

The driver, 36 year old Shawki Salah was returning to Nashville from Atlanta.

The deputy found several large bags of dried leaves inside, labelled “green tea.”

Eventually, an agent from the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force told him it sounded like Khat.

Khat is a plant from the Middle East with an amphetamine-like stimulant that is chewed.

They recovered ten pounds of the Khat in the vehicle, valued at between $4,000-$9,500.

Salah has been charged with possession of a Schedule 1 drug and driving on a suspended license.