U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized over 1,000 pounds of the illegal stimulant khat at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in two busts last week.
CBP reported on Aug. 19 two travelers from Senegal were going through customs at O’Hare before connecting to LaGuardia International Airport in New York City when officers discovered 167 packages of khat hidden inside pink plastic in their luggage during a secondary investigation.
The next day, August 20, another Senegalese tourist had their luggage checked during a secondary examination, which revealed 93 packages of khat packed in pink plastic bags and covered in foil, according to CBP.
In total, 1,172 pounds of khat were recovered from the three tourists during the two busts, according to CBP. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office arrested all three and charged them with trafficking a controlled substance as well as manufacturing or delivering more than 200 grams of Schedule I and II controlled substances.
Border Patrol estimated the khat’s street value at much over $140,000.
Khat, commonly known as Abyssinian tea and African salad, is a relatively unknown narcotic in the United States. Officials stated that the plant is endemic to East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Users chew it for a comparable effect to amphetamines, or dry and boil it to make a stimulant tea.Richard Miller, a pharmacology professor at Northwestern University, stated that it has a very ancient history. “It has a chemical structure similar to amphetamine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy. It is related to all of these things.”
According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, khat includes two central nervous system stimulants: cathinone (a Schedule I prohibited substance) and cathine (a Schedule IV controlled substance). Too much khat can produce toxicity, resulting in symptoms such as delusions, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, elevated blood pressure, and heart rate.
In 1980, the World Health Organization designated khat as a substance of abuse.
CBP said they have detected an increase in khat being smuggled into the United States in traveler luggage, including recent seizures at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Dulles International Airport, but this is not a significant increase over past years.
Two of the three accused were freed from custody pending trial. The third person is being detained in custody.
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