8 Cab Drivers Indicted On Drug Smuggling Charges 3.24.11

WRTV

INDIANAPOLIS -- Drivers from four different Indianapolis cab companies face the permanent revocation of their taxi licenses following their indictments last month on drug smuggling charges.
Eight current and former drivers face federal conspiracy charges with the intent to possess and distribute a controlled substance known as cathinone, also called khat, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.
"As we deal with public safety and quality of life issues, it's clear to us that we can't tolerate any licensee to engage in criminal activity," said Adam Collins, the licensing administrator for the Department of Code Enforcement.
The indictments handed down in February by the U.S Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Indiana alleged that 11 people, including the current and former cab drivers, engaged in a conspiracy to smuggle khat from Africa to the streets of Indianapolis.
Federal investigators intercepted a 128 kilogram shipment sent from Somalia to the UPS store in Broad Ripple, authorities said.
According to doctors from Wishard Memorial Hospital, khat comes from a widely grown shrub in Africa. Users chew the leaves to extract the cathinone compound, which produces a high similar to that of cocaine or methamphetamine. The U.S. has classified cathinone as a schedule 1 narcotic.
The drivers could have possibly been high on khat while behind the wheel, Collins said.
"The fact that they were involved in that could make that a possibility. Our concern is to make sure that no one driving a cab is engaged in the actual act of drug trafficking while driving a taxi," Collins said.
The drivers could get their licenses taken away at Thursday's hearing. The fact that seven of them remain in federal custody makes it highly unlikely that they will retain their licenses, Collins said.
If convicted on the federal charges, the drivers face prison time and deportation.
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