$900K In Ketamine Seized By Customs Officers At Dulles Airport: Report

DULLES, VA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers confiscated nearly 34 pounds of ketamine hydrochloride that had been found hidden in an airline's rushed baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport.

On Aug. 8, CBP agriculture specialists were x-raying a rushed suitcase that had arrived from Amsterdam, when they noticed some anomalies. Investigating further, CBP officers discovered eight pouches of a white crystalline substance.

Using a handheld elemental isotope analysis tool, the officers determined that the substance was ketamine hydrochloride, a dangerous animal tranquilizer abused by users, according to CBP. Weighing in at 15.3091 kilograms or 33 pounds and 12 ounces, the ketamine hydrochloride had a street value of about $900,000.

Since the suitcase was part of the rushed baggage from the Amsterdam flight, the traveler connected to the suitcase was not on site, according to CBP.

“Transnational criminal organizations continue to smuggle their dangerous drugs into the United States, but Customs and Border Protection officers and agriculture specialists work very hard every day to intercept these illicit shipments,” said Marc Calixte, area port director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Our narcotics interdiction efforts are one way in which CBP helps to keep our communities safe from the scourge of dangerous drugs.”

Ketamine hydrochloride is classified as a Schedule III non-narcotic compound, which is regulated under the Controlled Substances Act.