Anti-terror cops swooped on the home of a Croydon couple suspected of bankrolling terrorists through the illegal sale of an East African stimulant.

A married couple from Pitt Road, Thornton Heath, were arrested on suspicion of funding terrorism by smuggling the drug khat into the United States.

Police suspect the money from the illegal trade of the East African drug is being used to fund the terror group Al Shabaab, an Al Qaeda inspired group whose members are fighting in Somalia and Yemen.

Lelah Ali and her husband Adrian Wall, were among seven people arrested by detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command on May 1.

The couple, who are believed to be parents of four, were detained after officers carried out co-ordinated raids on four properties in London, Coventry and Cardiff.

Both have been charged with conspiracy as part of a police probe into the illegal exportation of khat to the US and Canada worth millions of dollars.

Khat is a flowering shrub that produces a mild high when chewed.

The leaves contain the drug cathinone, an addictive stimulant with effects similar to but less intense, than cocaine or methamphetamine.

The drug is not illegal in the UK but the stimulant, which is popular in parts of Africa is banned in Canada and the States.

All seven suspects who have links to Somalia, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court over the weekend.

Mr Wall, 49, was granted conditional bail when he appeared in court alongside Liiban Nursharif, 30 of no fixed address, and Daud Ali, 40, of Wakehurst Place, Cardiff, on Saturday May 5.

Mrs Ali, 45, was remanded in custody when she appeared in court on May 7. Hersi Farah, 47, of Torbay Mansions, Kilburn, Sharrif Ali, 45, and Warsame Nur, 42, both of Pioneer House, Coventry, were also remanded in custody.

The seven suspects will re-appear at Southwark Crown Court on July 6, where they will enter a plea.