Hijackers Release Khat Cargo Plane In Somalia

BOSASSO, Somalia, October 05, 2007 - Gunmen in northern Somalia released a plane carrying khat on Friday, a day after seizing the aircraft and its lucrative narcotic leaf in a business dispute, an official said.

"The hijacked plane was freed this morning. It took off from Las Qorey safely after efforts from Puntland and traditional elders," Muse Gelle Farole, a regional governor, told Reuters.

The plane was headed back to Ethiopia, where it had arrived from on Thursday, when two armed men overpowered its three crew and forced them to land in the coastal town of Las Qorey.

The hijacking took place in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland province, usually known for its relative stability in a country plagued by lawlessness since warlords toppled Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.

Illegal in many Western nations, the green khat leaf -- which offers a mild amphetamine-like high -- is chewed throughout the Horn of Africa.

Such is its popularity in Somalia that it reappeared on the streets of Mogadishu just hours after the city was recaptured from hardline Islamists who had banned it.

Source: Reuters