70 pounds of psychoactive drugs from China labeled as beauty products seized at US airport: officials

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia seized about 70 pounds of psychoactive drugs labeled as beauty products from China.

CBP officers intercepted two boxes on their way to an address in Washington, D.C. on June 26.

Inside the boxes were about 70 pounds of N, N-Dimethylpentylone Hydrochloride, which is considered to be a substituted cathinone and scheduled I controlled substance.

According to a press release from CBP, substituted cathinone are sold on the streets in tablet and powder form, as ecstasy or molly. 

Authorities first identified the drug in the U.S. in 2021.

The intercepted packages arrived in Dulles from China and were labeled as beauty products.

When officers inspected the packages, they found multiple vacuum-sealed bags that contained a white crystallized substance.

CBP officers used a handheld elemental isotope analysis tool to test the substance, and discovered it was N, N-Dimethylpentylone Hydrochloride.

The agency said synthetic stimulants reportedly cause high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, hypothermia, dehydration, arrhythmias, hallucinations, loss of consciousness and death.

CBP officers turned the shipment over to Homeland Security Investigations agents for further investigation.

“The synthetic stimulant market tries to stay one step ahead of law enforcement by continually tweaking cathinone’s chemical compounds to create new, yet still dangerous, analogues,” Christine Waugh, acting area port director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C. said. “Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to protecting our communities by detecting these new illicit psychoactive stimulants and working with our federal, state, and local partners to hold importers accountable.”

On average, CBP officers seize about 2,895 pounds of drugs each day at the country’s air, land and sea ports of entry.