see also: in September 2007 News Releases:   CBP Seizes $2.5 Million Worth of Marijuana Inside Cargo Load at Texas Entry   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Achieves Container Security Initiative Milestone with 58 Operational Ports   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Collects More Than $2.2 Million in Underpaid Antidumping Duty on Chinese Shrimp   Kiosks for Frequent International Fliers Now Available At Edmonton Airport   Port of Alexandria, Egypt Participates in the CBP Container Security Initiative   Ports of Colon and Manzanillo, Panama Begin Container Security Initiative Operations ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Newark, N.J. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and agriculture specialists at Newark Liberty International Airport yesterday intercepted more than 200 pounds of a narcotic plant, Khat, and prohibited it from entering the U.S.

While examining express mail cargo, Newark’s CBP officers with U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel scanned the packages and noticed abnormalities associated with agriculture products or leafy substances. The team was participating in Operation “Dog Bite” which operated over three days. The NII images showed organic compounds. CBP Agriculture Canine “Lexi” alerted to the presence of agriculture products emanating from the same boxes that the abnormalities had been detected.

During the examination, CBP officers discovered leafy bundles later determined to be Khat. A total of nine boxes were seized. The Khat, totaling 217 pounds, was valued at $43,400.

Khat is a natural stimulant from the Catha Edulis plant, found in flowering evergreen shrubs that grow in East Africa and Southern Arabia. Fresh leaves of Khat contain psychoactive ingredient known as cathinone; structurally similar to cathine.

During August and September, a total of 30 seizures weighing 730 pounds of Khat, with an approximate street value of $146,000, have been intercepted at express mail consignment facilities in Newark.

Fresh Khat leaves are chewed similar to tobacco and produce a mild cocaine- or amphetamine-like euphoria that is much less potent than either substance. Casual users of Khat claim it enables them to think sharper or heightens their spirits.

Khat has been widely used as a recreational drug in Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. It is being sold in cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Detroit and New York City. The street value of the product is approximately $400 a kilo and bundles usually sell for $40.

The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies Khat as a schedule I narcotic; the most restrictive category used by the DEA when the leaves are fresh picked, within 48 hours of harvest.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.