At least 60 Israelis have been arrested in Europe on charges of smuggling large amounts of khat, local media revealed yesterday.

The Jerusalem Post reported that seven Israelis were arrested in France, three in Sweden, two in Spain and two in Ireland.

They were caught with tens of kilograms of khat, which is a drug originally planted in Yemen and Somalia, stating that the largest haul was 91 and 82 kilogrammes each.

Arab48 reported Yedioth Ahronoth saying that a 32-year-old Israel was arrested in Turkey with 35 kilogrammes of khat and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Adding that at least 60 Israelis have been arrested for khat smuggling.

“Unfortunately, the phenomenon keeps expanding, harming innocent citizens – some of whom belong to disenfranchised factions of Israeli society [and] are more easily tempted by khat distributors and find themselves serving extended sentences abroad,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

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