Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercept khat at Baltimore/Washington International Airport at the baggage claim, seizing hundreds of pounds of the East African plant from suitcases brought by travelers arriving from London. The plant is classified as a controlled substance in the United States.
The New York Times and Fox News both report CBP finds khat hidden among other items in checked baggage. Fox News specifies the seizure as 847 pounds packed into 12 suitcases carried by two travelers. The New York Times similarly says CBP intercepts more than half a ton of khat, but also notes that experts believe far more plant material is smuggled into the country than is caught by enforcement.
Taken together, the accounts focus on the scale of the seizure and the means of concealment, while providing different emphasis on precise weight and the broader challenge of trafficking khat into the U.S. Authorities describe the interception as a significant stop in the importation of the controlled substance.
