Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Federal officials say they have seized more than 100 pounds of ketamine on two occasions, both involving attempts to smuggle the controlled substance into the United States via France.
On Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers this month at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia intercepted a little more than 160 pounds of the illicit drug in two separate attempts attempts to use luggage to smuggle in the crystallized substance.
Officials said Daijanae Mitchell, a U.S. citizen, concealed five large plastic bags on an October 11 flight from Paris. Seven additional bags were seized the next day by officers in the luggage of Ryan Mamboula Bokomba, a British citizen, who also arrived in Atlanta from Paris.
"Every pound of ketamine we intercept represents lives potentially saved from the devastating effects of this dangerous drug," according to Zachary C. Thomas, the CBP's area port director in Atlanta.
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