: A parcel of khat leaves worth Rs 40
lakh has been seized at the Foreign Post Office here on Thursday, Customs officials said.
The leaves, mainly cultivated in East Africa, are chewed for their soporific effect.
Acting on a tip-off that the contraband was arriving from Africa, the officials confiscated the parcel that did not declare its contents.
The parcel from Addis Ababa was destined to Chennai and the address mentioned on the cargo was fake.
The contraband weighed 15.6 kg.
According to officials, khat leaves are evergreen shrubs cultivated in East Africa and South Yemen.
As there is a sizeable population of African students here, the contraband may have been sent, a press release said.
In May 2018, the officials seized a similar parcel from Kenya containing 7.9 kg of such leaves.
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