Border Agents Hunting Smuggler After Almost $1 Million of Ketamine Found

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are hunting for a suspected drug smuggler after nearly $1 million worth of ketamine was discovered at Washington Dulles International Airport.
CBP officers found nearly 34 pounds of ketamine hydrochloride, an animal tranquilizer commonly abused by drug users, in a rushed suitcase arriving from Amsterdam.
Since the drug haul was discovered in rush baggage, the traveler who owned the suitcase was not on site and remains at large.
The estimated street value of the ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic that has hallucinogenic effects, is thought to be $900,000, according to the CBP.
CBP agriculture specialists detected anomalies via X-ray, leading to the identification of the substance.
The investigation is ongoing, and the passenger who owned the suitcase was not present when the narcotics were seized.
“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.”
CBP officers confiscated an average of 2,339 pounds of drugs daily at air, sea, and land ports of entry, including 78 pounds of fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that ketamine, often referred to on the street as Special K, is utilized in both human and veterinary medicine to provide sedation, immobilization, and pain relief.
Recently, medical professionals have also employed ketamine to treat mental health issues and substance use disorders.
However, it is frequently abused for its capacity to create dissociative effects and hallucinations.
According to CBP and the DEA, ketamine has been associated with facilitating sexual assault. Overdosing on this substance can also result in symptoms such as nausea, irregular heart rhythms, muscle rigidity, loss of consciousness, and respiratory failure, which can be fatal.
In July, CBP officers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport seized over 12 pounds of ketamine from a 43-year-old man arriving on a flight from Amsterdam.
The man was arrested and handed to the Port of Seattle Police Department.
Shortly after posting bail, the man was again encountered at the airport attempting to board a flight to London. Inside his checked bag, officers found more than one-half pound of ketamine.
CBP officers at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) seized 10 kilograms of ketamine stashed inside children’s board games heading to Miami, Florida, from London.
Officers intercepted 110 pounds of ketamine worth $4 million in a passenger’s baggage at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on December 13.
The man, a UK citizen, arrived on a flight from France and claimed the luggage was given to him by a family member.
CBP officers have seized over 6,000 pounds of ketamine nationwide in the 2023-2024 fiscal year from October to July.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact [email protected].