Two men flew nearly 850 pounds of a federally banned stimulant drug into a Maryland airport from London and were sent on their way — released pending further investigation — while the federal government devotes its resources to surveilling law-abiding Americans instead of locking down the ports of entry that are supposed to protect them.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport intercepted the massive haul on Aug. 13 after referring the two U.S. citizens from New York for secondary inspection, according to CBP. Each traveler had packed six soft-sided suitcases full of khat — a plant containing Schedule I and Schedule IV controlled substances, per the DEA. The seized load weighed approximately 847 pounds with an estimated street value of $100,000. And then the men were let go.
This was not an isolated incident. It was part of a staggering pattern. Days earlier, on Aug. 11, CBP officers at BWI found 331 pounds of khat in five duffel bags left at a baggage carousel after a London flight. The suspect fled the inspection station and was never apprehended. Another 81-pound bag arrived the next day, bringing that abandoned stash to roughly 412 pounds worth $50,000.
Then on Aug. 14, 25-year-old Mohamed Diawara, a New York resident, was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport after arriving from Paris with 367 pounds of khat packed into eight checked suitcases, according to CBP. Unlike the BWI pair, Diawara was actually charged — Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police hit him with felony possession with intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into Virginia. His haul was valued at roughly $44,000.
All told, CBP officers in the Baltimore-Washington region have seized more than 1,625 pounds of khat in these recent cases alone. The agency reported seizing roughly 46,000 pounds of khat nationwide last fiscal year and nearly 20,000 pounds so far this year.
CBP Area Port Director Adam Rottman called the baggage-smuggling volume
