110 pounds of ketamine found in traveler's baggage at Detroit Metro Airport
ROMULUS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Officers found 110 pounds of ketamine in a traveler's baggage at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday.
The traveler, a citizen of the United Kingdom, arrived on a flight from France on Dec. 13, authorities said. He was selected for a second inspection.
Officers performed an X-ray scan and physical search of the man's two large suitcases, which he claimed were given to him by a family member, customs officials said. The search revealed plastic bags filled with large white crystals, which according to field tests, were ketamine.
At $90 per gram, the ketamine has a street value of over $4 million, authorities said.
Customs and Border Protection officers seized the ketamine. Under federal law, the agency is required to destroy most seized drugs and retain samples as evidence for criminal prosecutions. Officers didn't let the traveler enter and he was returned to France, according to a news release.
The amount of ketamine seized by law enforcement has steadily increased over the past seven years according to research published in May 2023 in JAMA Psychiatry. From 2017 to 2022, the research found the number of law enforcement seizures increased from 55 to 247 – more than 300% – with most activity reported in Tennessee, Florida, and California.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, most of the ketamine illegally distributed in the U.S. has been diverted or stolen from legitimate sources, including veterinary clinics, or smuggled into the country from Mexico.
Ketamine, a Schedule III controlled substance, has been approved by the FDA as an anesthetic since the 1970s. It is accepted for medical use, but the drug — which has been abused for its hallucinogenic effects — is known for its use in nightclub and party culture. A ketamine overdose can cause unconsciousness and dangerously slowed breathing, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has warned.
"Friends" actor Matthew Perry died in October from the acute effects of ketamine, according to the results of an autopsy released earlier this month by the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Before his death, Perry received ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety, the autopsy report said.
Perry's last treatment was a week and a half before his death. Based on the levels of ketamine in his blood, the coroner determined that his cause of death was not from his prior infusion therapy, but rather from ketamine taken in some other manner. Ketamine is usually metabolized in a matter of hours.