A man who was arrested for trying to smuggle ketamine into the US from Europe through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was arrested again in the same week for trying to smuggle the drug in the other direction, US Customs and Border Protection says. In a news release, the agency says the 43-year-old US citizen was arrested on July 14 after he arrived on a flight from Amsterdam and officers found 12 pounds of ketamine in both liquid and powdered form, nearly two pounds of codeine, and almost two ounces of Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB, in his luggage.
The drug were seized and the man was turned over to the Port of Seattle Police Department, UPI reports. But within days, the man posted bail and was arrested again at the same airport. CBP says officers found more than half a pound of ketamine in his checked luggage after he tried to board a flight to London. He has been charged with possession with the intent to distribute ketamine. CBP officers "work diligently to keep dangerous drugs from the streets of our community" and also work to "prevent persons from taking dangerous drugs out of the United States, thus stopping a threat to other countries," Brian Humphrey, director of field operations at the agency's Seattle office, said in a statement. (More Customs and Border Protection stories.)