U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it seized hundreds of pounds of the illegal drug khat at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport earlier this month.
The agency said that it discovered 847 pounds of khat from two U.S. citizens who had come to the country from London on Aug. 13.
The seizure was in addition to the 412 pounds that were also found at BWI days before.
In the newer case, two men were referred for a secondary inspection, where officials searched their bags and found a significant amount of what they thought were tea leaves, but which testing confirmed were khat.
Each man had six soft-sided suitcases full of the drugs, which weighed a total of 846 pounds, nine ounces. It had a street value of about $100,000, the CBP said.
The travelers were released pending an investigation, but the khat was seized.
Two days before, officials said an alleged smuggler was spooked by CBP officers and left 412 pounds of the drugs, also known as Abyssinian tea or African salad, behind.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Khat is typically chewed and gives an amphetamine-like high.
Its leaves can be dried and brewed into a stimulant tea.
Khat can also be smoked or sprinkled on food.
The drug can produce delusions, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, and increased blood pressure and heart rate, the DEA said. It was classified as a drug of abuse by the World Health Organization in 1980.
The CBP said it seized about 46,000 pounds of khat from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025. From Oct. 31, 2025, through July 31, 2026, seizures totaled about 19,000 pounds.
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