Border Patrol finds 7 pounds of opium poppy pods in Delaware
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on Tuesday intercepted a shipment of opium poppy pods in Wilmington, Delaware. The shipment was bound for Middletown, Delaware, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The poppy plant is a controlled substance in the United States. Some people illegally import opium poppy pods to make tea.
Poppy tea is consumed by users for its narcotic, analgesic, antidiarrheal, or psychoactive effects, according to Customs and Border Patrol, but the Justice Department warns that some people have died after drinking it.
Officers found the poppy pods in bags inside boxes shipped from the United Kingdom and manifested as "Dried Table Decorations," the statement said. They seized the pods, which weighed a combined seven pounds, ten ounces, for destruction, authorities said.
Earlier this year Wilmington Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted a 10-pound shipment of poppy pods headed to Dover, Delaware, also from the U.K.
"The opioid epidemic remains a very real and a very serious health concern. Customs and Border Protection officers serve on our nation's frontlines and we will continue to intercept dangerous imports, including these opioid-based poppy pods that could potentially hurt people in our communities," Erik Kelling, Port Director for CBP's Port of Wilmington, said in a statement.