DULLES, Va. (WBFF) — A New York man was arrested after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers discovered nearly 368 pounds of khat packed inside his luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport, the latest in a series of large khat seizures at airports in the region.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police arrested 25-year-old Mohamed Diawara on Saturday and charged him with felony possession with intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into Virginia, according to CBP.
Authorities said Diawara arrived at Dulles on a flight from Paris on Friday night and was referred by CBP officers for a secondary inspection.
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During a search of his eight checked suitcases, officers discovered what CBP described as a commercial quantity of a dried organic substance. Field tests identified the material as khat, or Catha edulis.
The eight suitcases contained a combined 367 pounds, 9 ounces of khat, with an estimated street value of about $44,000, according to CBP.
Officers seized the khat before turning Diawara over to MWAA Police.
This is a brazen attempt at smuggling a bulk amount of illegal khat into the United States, but an attempt that failed due to the exceptional work of highly skilled Customs and Border Protection officers,” said CBP Area Port Director Christine Waugh, Area Port of Washington, D.C., via a press release “CBP continues to prioritize intercepting dangerous drugs along our nation’s borders, and we work continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold smugglers accountable.
The seizure at Dulles follows two major khat discoveries at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport within the span of several days.
On Aug. 11, CBP officers at BWI inspected five duffel bags that had been left behind at a baggage carousel following a flight from London.
Officers found what initially appeared to be tea leaves, which field tests later identified as khat.
Another bag containing 81 pounds arrived the following day.
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Altogether, the six bags contained 412 pounds, 4 ounces of khat with an estimated street value of about $50,000. CBP said baggage tags identified the traveler connected with the luggage, but authorities were unable to reach that person.
Two days after that discovery, officers at BWI intercepted an even larger shipment.
CBP said two U.S. citizens from New York arrived on a flight from London on Aug. 13 and were sent for secondary inspection. Each traveler had six soft-sided suitcases containing khat, authorities said.
The 12 suitcases held a combined 846 pounds, 9 ounces with an estimated street value of about $100,000. The travelers were released pending further investigation and were not publicly identified.
Together, the two BWI seizures totaled more than 1,250 pounds of khat in a matter of days. With the Dulles seizure included, CBP officers in the Baltimore-Washington region have intercepted more than 1,625 pounds of khat in the recent cases.
Khat, also known as Abyssinian tea or African salad, is primarily grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its leaves are commonly chewed for their stimulant effects, while dried leaves can be boiled to make a stimulant tea.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, khat use can produce amphetamine-like effects, and toxicity can cause symptoms including increased heart rate and blood pressure, loss of appetite, breathing difficulties and delusions.
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