Somaliland abuzz from Ethiopia's khat convoys

Narcotic plant is a huge tax-revenue earner that bolsters the region's economy, but also disrupts family life

Somaliland spends $524m a year - about 30 percent of its gross domestic product - on khat from Ethiopia, said Weli Daud with the Somaliland Ministry of Finance.

Khat has become so enmeshed with Somaliland's culture and daily life it has become an important tax earner for the government. In 2014, khat sales generated 20 percent of the $152m budget.

But despite this windfall, plenty of critics highlight the disrupting influence khat has on family life - from financial waste to domestic violence - and on the society at large.