The Border Patrol team at Atlanta Airport in the United States reportedly seized over five pounds of dangerous drugs from a passenger arriving from Spain last week. Due to the nature of the seized contents, airport authorities arrested the passenger and turned him over to police for prosecution.

Capturing the substance

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) seized over five pounds of a highly harmful substance called gamma-butyrolactone from an American passenger flying in from Spain last week on August 21. According to reports from Atlanta News First, the substance seized from the 26-year-old passenger is known by several names, such as “liquid ecstasy” or “coma in a bottle,” according to CBP.

It is reported that the contents were carried in two containers in the passenger’s luggage and that the drug is known to cause symptoms such as drowsiness, dizziness, memory loss and confusion.

It is further reported that the drug is highly addictive and its use can lead to breathing problems, coma and even be fatal. Due to the dangerous nature of the substance, the passenger was arrested by authorities in ATL and handed over to the Clayton County Police Department for criminal prosecution.

Further seizures at ATL

While the CBP at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta has the important task of intercepting all illegal and dangerous items brought into the country, there have also been a number of unnecessary seizures of cash by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at the airport in recent years.

Recently, a 2021 incident was brought to light in which the DEA wrongfully took $8,500 in cash from a passenger. While the passenger took that incident to court and successfully recovered the money, he is now back in court to get those responsible for the case to pay his legal fees, which amount to around $15,000.

Data from a 2017 U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) audit found that out of 100 samples seized by the DEA at the airport, only 44 cash seizures were related to a criminal investigation. That same year, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General reportedly found that 91% of the cash seized came from legal sources.

Other strange content seized

Looking at other airports in the country, there were several reports of passengers attempting to bring illegal items into the United States. Authorities in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) announced several months ago that airport teams had intercepted over 4,000 illegal wildlife contraband items being brought into the country by international passengers.

CBP at airports works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to detect and intercept passengers attempting to enter the country with illegal wildlife items and to prevent the unlawful exploitation of nature’s valuable resources.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

A similar incident occurred earlier this year when CBP seized mummified monkey remains from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) from a passenger arriving on a flight from Paris.