Baltimore border patrol officers seize 695 pounds of psychedelic drug bound for Harford County
Darreonna Davis
The Baltimore Banner
June 24, 2025
The air cargo shipments contained 300 vacuum-sealed bags filled with a brown powdery substance known as DMT
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Baltimore seized 695 pounds of an LSD-like drug headed to Harford County earlier this month.
The officers recovered three shipments of the psychedelic drug, dimethyltryptamine, that were transported from Chiapas, Mexico, between May 7-27, officials said in a press release Tuesday.
The air cargo shipments contained 300 vacuum-sealed bags filled with the brown powdery substance, commonly known as DMT, estimated to be worth $555,000, officials said.
The drug seizure in Baltimore, which happened June 11, is an effort that “helps to protect our communities,” said Jason Kropiewnicki, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director in Baltimore.
Baltimore CBP officers join those in Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis; Philadelphia; and Laredo, Texas among others in recovering DMT over the last five years.
“The global marketplace has allowed unscrupulous people in our communities to order dangerous drugs, such as DMT, from overseas manufacturers that could hurt and potentially kill abusers,” Kropiewnicki said in a statement. “Inspecting imports remains a critical component of Customs and Border Protection’s border security mission, and seizures like this are one way in which CBP helps to protect our communities.”
What is DMT?
Popular in the 1960s, DMT is a Schedule I drug with no accepted medical use and high potential for abuse, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. DMT can be smoked using a pipe, brewed into drinks, such as ayahuasca and yagé, or snorted.
The powder-based drug has both psychological effects, such as auditory distortions and visual hallucinations, and physical impacts, including increased heart rate, hypertension and dilated pupils, according to the DEA.
The intense, short duration effects are attractive to individuals who want a psychedelic experience, but not the lengthier, mind-altering perceptual effects of other hallucinogens, like LSD.
DMT has long been used in spiritual and religious practices, and some research has assessed its therapeutic use, such as treating anxiety, mood and trauma-related disorders, according to an article published in the National Institutes of Health.