CBP Seizes Shipments Of Horse Tranquilizer Xylazine, Which Is Often Mixed With Heroin And Has No Antidote

U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted shipments of a deadly horse tranquilizer that federal officials warn is increasingly being mixed with opioids like fentanyl and heroin.

CBP officers assigned to the Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team at an air cargo facility in Chicago seized three separate shipments of xylazine, also known as “tranq,” on April 12. The shipments arrived from China and were destined for one address in Cleveland, Ohio, and two addresses in Philadelphia, Penn.

When the packages arrived, they were found to contain an unknown white powder that required further testing. Using a handheld elemental isotype analysis tool, the powder was positively identified as xylazine. In total, the packages contained 18 pounds of the substance.

Xylazine is typically used by veterinarians to sedate large animals, but it is increasingly being found mixed with street drugs like fentanyl and heroin. The Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration have issued warnings about the dangers of xylazine, noting that there is no known antidote to overdose. Xylazine is not an opioid, and does not respond to Narcan, which is used to reverse opioid overdose.

“The work of our officers has been incredible and their dedication to CBP’s enforcement mission is evident when you look at these deadly illicit substance seizures,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operation, Chicago Field Office, said in a statement. “Drug traffickers are persistent in their attempts to smuggle sedatives such as xylazine into the United States, however, through our hard work and vigilance we will continue to intercept these dangerous substances at our port of entry before they can harm our communities.”