2 Arrested, More Than 760 Pounds Of Khat Seized In A Single Day At This VA Airport

STERLING, VA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday the arrest of two men on suspicion of khat smuggling through Washington Dulles International Airport on Aug. 20, leading to a seizure of more than 760 pounds of the controlled substance that day, and more than 1,000 pounds in a single week.

On Tuesday, CBP announced that two men had been arrested on Aug. 20 after CBP officers said they found a combined 764 pounds of khat in their baggage at Dulles Airport. According to CBP, Dorian Lamin Cham, 33, of Woodstock, GA, and Dama Jawara, 33, of the Bronx, NY, have been charged with felony possession with intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into Virginia.

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Cham and Jawara arrived at the airport separately, flying from Casablanca and Paris, respectively. CBP says each man was transporting seven checked bags and one carry-on. When officials opened the bags, they found large quantities of a dried organic substance wrapped in multiple bundles in every bag.

Field tests identified the substance as khat, Catha edulis, CBP says.

Khat, a substance that is chewed or boiled into tea and used as a mild stimulant, is typically grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where it has been used for centuries in social gatherings. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, khat has two components classified as controlled substances in the U.S.: cathinone, which is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, and cathine, a Schedule IV controlled substance.

The CBP says the khat carried by Cham and Jawara has a street value of about $90,000.

Just six days earlier, CBP had arrested another man, Mohamed Diawara, 25, for allegedly smuggling nearly 368 pounds of khat into the airport. In June, CBP officers say they seized 139 pounds of khat at the airport.

CBP officers are reporting an increase in cases of khat smuggling in travelers' baggage. CBP officers seized 412 pounds of khat and 847 pounds of khat in separate seizures last week at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the agency says.

According to CBP, officers and agents seized about 46,000 pounds of khat last fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025) and seized nearly 19,000 pounds of khat during the first nine months of this fiscal year, through July 31.