U.S. customs officials seize 139 pounds of Ethiopian khat shipped to Sacramento
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- U.S. customs officials seized 139 pounds of khat shipped from Ethiopia to Sacramento.
- The seized khat had a street-value of about $17,000. The plant was subsequently destroyed.
- Kkat is a plant that is chewed for its amphetamine-like effect.
Federal customs officials at Washington Dulles Airport seized 139 pounds of Ethiopian khat, a plant chewed for its amphetamine-like effect, that was destined for Sacramento.
Customs officials on June 4 found and confiscated the khat with a street-value of about $17,000 that was being shipped in air cargo from Ethiopia to Sacramento, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday in a news release. The confiscated khat was destroyed.
Khat, which is known as Abyssinian tea and African salad, is typically grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, customs officials said. Dried khat leaves are also boiled to create a stimulant tea.
Khat contains two central nervous system stimulants, cathinone and cathine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Cathinone, considered to be the principal active stimulant, is structurally similar to d-amphetamine and at its highest levels when khat is harvested.
The DEA classifies cathinone as a schedule 1 drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Cathine is classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance. Symptoms of khat toxicity include delusions, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, and increased blood pressure and heart rate. Customs officials said the World Health Organization classified khat as a drug of abuse in 1980.
“The khat plant is prohibited from being imported to the United States because its active chemical ingredients are controlled substances,” Christine Waugh, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C., said in the news release.
CBP officers and agents seized about 46,000 pounds of khat last fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025) and has seized about 10,000 pounds during the first seven months of this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026).
