U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia seized five shipments of ketamine hydrochloride destined for South Florida recently.
According to the CBP, shipments of 57 pounds of ketamine were hidden in fishing rods and in boxes of toys. Agents with CBP said the seizure had a street value of $1.5 million. A Schedule III non-narcotic compound, ketamine hydrochloride is an animal anesthetic used by drug users and sexual predators to induce sedation, immobility and pain relief. Unprescribed, can be used to induce dissociative sensations and hallucinations.
Officers inspecting a parcel being shipped from the Netherlands to Miami on June 21 found the white crystalline substance inside six small plastic buckets of fishing rods. Later, in July, officers inspecting a shipment from Germany found vacuum-sealed bags of the crystalline matter in parcels containing toys, replacement rollers and picture frames.
“Ketamine is a very dangerous anesthetic that can seriously harm abusers and unsuspecting victims, and so it’s an illicit drug that Customs and Border Protection officers take immense pleasure at intercepting before it can reach our communities,” Cleatus P. Hunt, Jr., Area Port Director for CBP’s Area Port of Philadelphia. “CBP remains committed to combatting drug trafficking organizations by seizing their poisonous shipments at our nation’s ports of entry.”
The CBP said its officers and agents seize an average of 1,571 pounds of drugs every day at American ports of entry, including 78 pounds of fentanyl.