Customs Officers Seize $20K In Nigerian Khat At Dulles Airport

DULLES, VA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a large load of Nigerian khat on March 21 at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to a release. The shipment was headed to an address in Washington, D.C.

As they were examining cargo that had arrived March 5 aboard an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi, UAE, customs officials inspected a shipment of clothing and dried camellia sinensis — organic green tea leaves — from Lagos, Nigeria. Opening the shipment, they found three boxes containing dried leaves inside silver bags and black plastic bags.

A CBP agriculture specialist initially identified the leaves as khat and samples were sent to a U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist for confirmation. Customs received a report back on March 20 saying that the leaves were indeed Catha Edulis, more commonly known as khat.

The World Health Organization classified khat, which is typically grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, as a drug of abuse in 1980. Users chew the substance to create a stimulant effect.

In total, the shipment of khat weighed 66.78 kilograms, or 147 pounds, 4 ounces. That amount of khat would have a street value of about $20,0000. Customs officials destroyed the shipment.

“Customs and Border Protection is deeply engaged in our nation’s whole-of-government response to the serious coronavirus pandemic; however, we remain ever vigilant to conduct our traditional law enforcement missions, including narcotics interdiction,” said Javier Cortes, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington D.C., in a release.

“CBP officers remain steadfast in our duty to protect our communities while hitting back at transnational criminal organizations that thrive on the sale of illicit narcotics to fund their other nefarious businesses,” Cortes said.

Customs officials seized an average of 3,707 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the U.S. last year.