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BNN to raid Arabian tea farms in Cianjur
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Police officers show marijuana kept in several packages they manage to confiscate in an operation in Jakarta. (Tempo/-)
T
he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has planned to launch a raid into areas in Cianjur, West Java, where khat, also known as Arabian tea, a flowering shrub classified as a drug, is suspected to be cultivated.
BNN head Budi Waseso recently ordered the agency's chapter in Cianjur, West Java, to launch a raid into three districts -- Cipanas, Pacet and Sukaresmi -- where the herbal stimulant is suspected to be cultivated.
BNN Cianjur head Hendrik said on Sunday that Arabian tea contained cathinone, hence its classification as a category one narcotic in the country. Hendrik added that the shrub was also cultivated in northern parts of Cianjur.
"The plant became famous after the arrest of Indonesian entertainer Raffi Ahmad in 2013. After the plant was banned in Bogor, it targeted Cianjur as a new planting area," he said, as quoted by antaranews.com.
(Read also: 100 kilograms of marijuana seized in Aceh)
According to Hendrik, cathinone causes euphoria, hyperactivity and loss of appetite to those consuming it.
Lika Nurhayati, member of the Cianjur House of Representatives, said House members there were ready to help BNN in educating citizens about the dangers of Arabian tea so that people would not be fooled by those trafficking the drug. (rdi/wit)
