Traffic stop in Grand Island leads to 13 pounds of ‘khat’ being seized

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A traffic stop in Grand Island early Tuesday morning led to a massive drug bust for the Grand Island Police Department.

An officer pulled over a vehicle near Ashton Avenue and Sycamore Street for a stop sign violation at 3:20 a.m. During the traffic stop, police said the driver, 40-year-old Said Hassan, ran away but was quickly apprehended.

During a search of his vehicle, police reportedly found 13 pounds of suspected Khat, five of which were already packaged for sale.

The DEA reports khat is typically chewed like tobacco, then retained in the cheek and chewed intermittently to the active drug, which produces a stimulant-like effect.

Hassan was arrested on suspicion of a stop sign violation, obstructing a police officer and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Dean Elliott, division chief of GIPD, explained khat is a plant that is usually grown in African regions, particularly in South Africa.

“We really haven’t seen Khat until the immigrant community, the African immigrant community came to Grand Island,” said Elliott. “That’s when we seen people with khat and had to adapt and learn what that particular substance was.“

Elliott shared this is the first time they’ve discovered this amount of khat at one time, but have contacted with several subjects with khat in the past.

“Some of it was loose in a garbage bag, but there was other packages, zip lock packages that were obviously were ready for resale,” said Elliott. “Hence the amount of khat and being packaged for resale was the reason why he was charged with the intent to distribute as well.“

Elliott also said that Hassan was found with three legal ID cards, one from New York, one from Wisconsin and one from Missouri.

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