$80K In Drugs Headed For Harford County Intercepted In Baltimore By U.S. Customs Officers

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Baltimore seized nearly 104 pounds of dimethyltryptamine, an LSD-like hallucinogenic, on Monday that was headed for an address in Harford County.

The seizure consisted of two shipments, each containing 23 black vacuum-sealed bags, that CBP officers inspected on July 18 and July 28. Officers probed a sampling of vacuum-sealed bags and discovered a brown powdery substance inside, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported.

Officers detained the shipments and sent samples of the brown powdery substance to scientists at CBP’s Laboratories and Scientific Services for a full lab analysis. On Aug. 7, CBP scientists confirmed that the substances tested positive for dimethyltryptamine. The 46 vacuum-sealed bags weighed a combined 47 kilograms, or 103 pounds and 10 ounces, and had a street value of around $80,000, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated.

Dimethyltryptamine, a schedule I controlled substance, is used for its psychedelic and hallucinogenic effects and was a popular drug used in the 1960s. Today, DMT is still found on the illicit market with other tryptamine hallucinogens. Abusers can smoke, snort or inject DMT, or consume it orally in brews like Ayahuasca for an LSD-like high. The intense, short duration effects are attractive to individuals who want the psychedelic experience, but not the mind-altering perceptions of other hallucinogens, like LSD, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. DMT has no approved medical use in the United States.

“Customs and Border Protection’s border security mission prioritizes intercepting dangerous drugs, such as DMT, at our nation’s ports of entry that could harm U.S. citizens and destroy our communities,” said Jason Kropiewnicki, CBP’s acting area port director in Baltimore. “The accessibility of dangerous drugs purchased through the global marketplace presents a unique challenge to CBP officers searching for them, but this seizure once again proves that our officers are up to that challenge.”