Customs Agents Intercept 150 lbs. of Khat at PHL

Customs and Border Patrol agents working out of Philadelphia International Airport have intercepted 150 lbs. of khat in the last two weeks, the government agency announced.

Khat is a leafy green plant grown on the Arabian Peninsula that is chewed for a stimulant effect. It has been deemed a schedule 1 narcotic by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is banned in the United States.

The drug was in parcels bound for Everett, Mass.; Riverwoods, Skokie and West Dundee in Illinois; Minneapolis and Rochester in Minnesota; and Cromwell, Conn., the CBP said.

“We know that U.S. consumers will attempt to purchase products they know to be illicit or illegal from overseas sources through the internet. Our best advice to them is caveat emptor, buyer beware,” Tarance Drafts, acting CBP Port Director for the Port of Philadelphia, said in a statement. “Inspecting international parcels for dangerous and illicit products remains a Customs and Border Protection enforcement priority. There’s a great chance we’ll get our hands on your purchase before you do.”

The illegal parcels were identified on shipping manifests as “Decorative Artistic Handicrafts;” “mobile phone accessories;” “Adidas junior bags;” and “document procedures.”

The seized khat has a street value of about $45,000, the CBP said.

The CBP during the same timeframe also seized 16 vials of steroids and 140 codeine tablets.

The CBP says that it “routinely conducts random inspections operations on passengers and air cargo searching for narcotics, currency, weapons and other prohibited or illicit products as part of its border security mission.”