Ahmed told them the truth—that Mokhtar was trying to get out of the country through the port in Aden, that they were transporting a small sampling of Yemeni coffee. The soldiers wanted to see it. Mokhtar got out and untied the suitcase. He knew it looked unusual, and admitted to the soldiers that using a giant flatbed truck to carry one black suitcase had the appearance of something nefarious. He laughed. The Houthis did not share his mirth. Mokhtar opened the case, showed the soldiers the beans, and soon heard himself explaining the history of coffee in Yemen, how he intended to restore the
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