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Customs and Border Protection officers found the shipments at "an international express consignment facility," CBP said in a news release on Friday, Dec. 13. CBP didn't mention the specific location where the packages were found.
The shipments were marked as "deep groove ball bearings" but officers found five bags of a white powdery substance in each package. The parcels were seized on Monday, Nov. 25 and Monday, Dec. 2.
The packages came from Hong Kong and were headed to an address in Edgewater. The substance inside was confirmed to be tianeptine sodium salt, a drug not approved in the U.S.
The tianeptine weighed a combined 10.22 kilograms—equal to 22 pounds and eight ounces. Officers used a handheld isotope analysis tool to test the powder.
Tianeptine is marketed in other countries as an antidepressant and treatment for anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome. It's commonly sold at convenience stores and gas stations, earning the nickname “gas station heroin” for its opioid-like effects.
According to the DEA, law enforcement has found tianeptine in various forms, including bulk powder, counterfeit pills resembling prescription opioids, and heroin-style stamp bags.
"The exponential growth of the global marketplace has allowed nefarious opportunists an abundantly accessible supply of synthetic opioid and cannabinoid compounds that they then mix with other dangerous substances to create a potent and potentially deadly drug of abuse," said Cleatus Hunt, director of CBP's Area Port of Philadelphia. "Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to working with our Food and Drug Administration partners to keep dangerous synthetic compounds out of the hands of criminal organizations by intercepting it at our nation’s borders when we encounter it."
The seizure came a few months after a lawsuit was filed by the family of a Toms River man who was killed after using "gas station heroin." Matthew Cornier died on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, after consuming Neptune's Fix Elixir purchased from a store in Point Pleasant, the suit claimed.
After Cornier's death, Neptune Resources voluntarily recalled the elixir in January. The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings against tianeptine products which have been blamed for causing seizures, comas, and deaths.
The state health department also issued an alert after a cluster of poisoning cases were linked to tianeptine use. There were 20 cases with "severe clinical effects" in New Jersey between June and November 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In June, North Carolina became at least the tenth state to ban tianeptine sales, WRAL reported. The ban went into effect on Sunday, Dec. 1, WFMY News 2 reported.
According to the nonprofit America’s Poison Centers, 391 tianeptine-related cases were reported in the U.S. in 2023.
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