Customs and Border Protection seized more than half a ton of khat, a controlled substance, at BWI airport. In one case, officers seized about 847 pounds of khat, valued at roughly $100,000, from two men who had traveled from London, and the men were released pending further investigation. In an earlier incident, five duffel bags containing 330 pounds of khat arrived on a flight from London and were left on a baggage carousel at BWI, after the traveler had cleared customs screening.
Brief item focused on the scale of the seizure (half a ton total) and expert commentary suggesting the seizure represents only a fraction of khat entering the country, implying a larger, ongoing smuggling problem.
No centrist outlet in our set has published this story.
Detailed, incident-focused report on the specific 847-pound suitcase seizure involving two named-by-residence (NY) travelers, including CBP statements, drug effects, health risks, and broader seizure statistics; frames the story as a law-enforcement success story with procedural detail.