December 30, 2025
Provided Image/U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Six illegal ketamine shipments, including the one above, were seized in Philadelphia by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers between Sept. 23 and Dec. 11, federal officials say.
Six illegal shipments of ketamine — an anesthetic used by recreational drug users as a hallucinogen, have been intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia since late September, law enforcement officers said.
The drugs were concealed in various objects, including a punching bag base, cleaning solvent bottles, plastic shell cases and vacuum-sealed bags, CBP said Monday. The shipments were seized between Sept. 23 and Dec. 11.
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Four shipments arrived from the United Kingdom, one came from France and the other came from the Netherlands, CBP said. They were headed to destinations in Florida and Connecticut.
Ketamine hydrochloride is a Schedule III drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an anesthetic during medical operations. It also is used off label to treat various mental health illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. It is legally used by veterinarians as an animal sedative, too.
On the street, ketamine is known as "Special K," "Donkey Dust" and "Cat Killer." It can be snorted, smoked and mixed into drinks for use as a hallucinogen — similar to phencyclidine (PCP), CBP said. Overdoses can lead to nausea, elevated heart rate, unconsciousness, convulsions and respiratory failure.
CBP officers confirmed the shipments contained ketamine by using an elemental isotope analysis tool to test samples, CBP said. The six shipments weighed a combined 160 pounds.
"Customs and Border Protection officers vigilantly safeguard our communities from the scourge of dangerous drugs, such as this ketamine, which has been used by sexual predators to assault victims," Cleatus P. Hunt Jr., CBP's Area Port Director in Philadelphia, said in a statement. "CBP officers remain committed to disrupting drug smuggling attempts and working with our law enforcement partners to hold drug trafficking organizations accountable."
Between June and September, CBP officers in Philadelphia seized 129 pounds of ketamine destined for addresses in South Florida, Seattle, Las Vegas and Wayne, Michigan.
