{"id":326292,"date":"2026-08-21T00:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/326292\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T00:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:41:17","slug":"new-york-man-arrested-after-nearly-400-pounds-of-khat-seized-at-dulles-airport-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/326292\/","title":{"rendered":"New York man arrested after nearly 400 pounds of khat seized at Dulles Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (7News) \u2014 A New York man was arrested after U.S. Customs and Border Protection<\/a> (CBP) officers found nearly 400 pounds of khat<\/a> packed inside his checked luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport<\/a>, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police <\/a>(MWAA) charged 25-year-old Mohamed Diawara with felony possession with intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into Virginia<\/a>, according to CBP.<\/p>\n

Diawara arrived at Dulles on a flight from Paris<\/a> Friday night and was referred by CBP officers for a secondary inspection, officials said.<\/p>\n

RELATED | $40K in meth found stashed in Paris-bound package at Dulles airport<\/a><\/p>\n

During a search of his eight checked suitcases, officers discovered what CBP described as a commercial quantity of a dried organic substance. Field testing identified the substance as khat, a plant containing controlled stimulants.<\/p>\n

The seized khat weighed 367 pounds, 9 ounces and had an estimated street value of about $44,000, according to CBP.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A New York man is behind bars after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized about 368 pounds of khat in his checked baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport on August 14, 2026. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police arrested Mohamed Diawara, 25, on felony charges of possession with the intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into the Commonwealth of Virginia. Khat is illegal and poses severe health risks to users. (CBP Photos\/Handouts)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a brazen attempt at smuggling a bulk amount of illegal khat into the United States, but an attempt that failed due to the exceptional work of highly skilled Customs and Border Protection officers,\u201d CBP Area Port Director Christine Waugh said.<\/p>\n

The Dulles seizure comes amid what CBP says is an increase in attempts to smuggle khat in travelers\u2019 luggage. Officers recently reported separate seizures of 412 pounds and 847 pounds of khat at Baltimore\/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.<\/p>\n

READ | CBP officers seize 412 pounds of khat, valued near $50,000, at BWI Airport<\/a><\/p>\n

Khat, also known as Abyssinian tea or African salad, is a plant typically grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its leaves may be chewed or brewed into tea for their stimulant effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (7News) \u2014 A New York man was arrested after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-326292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}