Jasper County-A traffic stop sent two people to jail and the discovery of forty pounds of Khat worth approximately $20,000.

At approximately 2:10 p.m., yesterday, Tuesday, January 29th, Senior Trooper Fred Trammel and Probationary Officer Brandon Urquidi stopped a 2012 Toyota Corolla for a traffic violation on I-65 south bound at the 222 mile marker (this is two miles south of the Winamac/Fair Oaks exit).

While speaking with the occupants the troopers became suspicious of criminal activity. Trooper Trammel (who is also a canine handler) walked his K-9 partner Ryker around the vehicle. Ryker alerted on the Toyota specifically the trunk area. A subsequent search of the Toyota revealed a bed sheet in the trunk covering something. Upon opening the sheet there bundles of Khat located.

The driver, Derald T. Pike, 28 of Bolingbrook, Illinois and his passenger, Walter T. Stevenson, 31 of Chicago, Illinois were taken to Jasper County Jail and charged with Dealing a Schedule 1 Drug (Class B Felony and Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class C Felony).

Khat is a flowering plant that is mostly grown in the Horn of Africa. It has a short shelf life (normally within two weeks) before it starts to lose its potency. Users of Khat usually chew it for the “stimulant-euphoric effect” it has.

Pictures attached show that Khat was wrapped in banana leaves to keep it fresh longer

Assisting: Indiana State Police Troopers Mike Jones, Aaron Correll, Zack Beaver, Nicholas Daly and the Lake County Sheriff Department

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.