Saudi Arabia says it has confiscated nearly 30 tons of the narcotic shrub khat as part of a broader crackdown on drugs, the AP reports.

Khat, is a leaf that is placed behind the cheek and chewed slowly, while releasing amphetamine-like chemicals that result in a mild intoxication.

It is very popular in Yemen and countries in the Horn of Africa such as Ethiopia and Somalia.

Saudi border authorities seized 29.2 tons of khat in the south of the country, near the border with Yemen, and in the north, near Jordan, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

More than 360 smugglers were arrested, most of them Yemenis, but also several Ethiopians and Saudis.

Yemen, mired in civil war since 2014 and long the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, is a major producer and consumer of khat, which is banned in some countries but has been part of Yemen's social fabric for thousands of years. The country was once best known for its coffee industry, but profits from khat have overshadowed this trade and spread to other farmlands, including Ethiopia and Kenya.

Saudi Arabia is also a major market for an addictive amphetamine called Captagon.