70 pounds of psychoactive drugs labelled as beauty products from China, bound for US seized
CBP officers at Dulles International Airport intercepted two packages containing synthetic drugs
In a massive bust, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday said it had seized about 70 pounds (32.2 kg) of psychoactive drugs labelled as beauty products from China at the Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.
The two boxes discovered last month (June 26) weredestined for Washington DC, according to CBP. Upon closely examining the boxes, officers found multiple vacuum-sealed bags that contained a white, crystallised substance that was tested and later determined to be drugs.
"On June 26, CBP officers intercepted two boxes destined to an address in Washington, DC, that contained about 71 pounds ofN,N-Dimethylpentylone (Hydrochloride), a substituted cathinone and a scheduled I controlled substance," the CBP said in a statement.
The seized drugs are being sold in powder and tablet form on the streets as ecstasy and molly since being first identified in 2021, the authorities added.
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"CBP officers seized the Dimethylpentylone load and turned it over to special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigation."
Fentanyl crisis in US
The US has been facing a grave drug crisis as counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills from China are being smuggled into the American market. According to research released by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of drug overdose deaths containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl more than quadrupled in the United States between 2016 and 2021.
WATCH | US charges Chinese companies with trafficking fentanyl materials
Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it is increasingly being combined with other illegal substances, frequently with disastrous effects.
According to government estimates, the number of drug-related overdose deaths in the United States exceeded 100,000 by 2021, prompting the Biden administration to call for action.
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The opposition has been targeting the Biden administration for not doing enough to stop the 'drug war' initiated by China. Presidential nomination seeker Nikki Haley in a recent TV interview said economic ties with China should be snapped to nip the drug crisis in the bud.
"China is much more than a mere ‘competitor.’ Communist China is an enemy. We have to stop wasting time," said Haley, adding that she would put an end to China buying up US farmland. If necessary, she would also end normal economic ties with Beijing so that the flow of fentanyl across the US-Mexico border gets halted.
(With inputs from agencies)
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