A Baltimore man is accused of trying to bribe a port official in order to get them to release a shipment of kratom, which is barred from import by the Food and Drug Administration.
Zen Aljufri, 61, is charged on two counts of trying to bribe a federal official, in this case Customs and Border Protection agents in the Port of Baltimore, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said Friday.
Mr. Aljufri and his company are alleged to have consigned two containers of kratom shipped from Malaysia earlier this year, one which left that country on April 29 and arrived in Baltimore on June 8, and the other which left Malaysia on July 12 and arrived in Baltimore on Aug. 23, according to an affidavit.
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Kratom, scientific name Mitragyna speciosa, is a tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves produce stimulant effects and contain psychoactive chemicals. The plant has been subject to an FDA import alert since 2014, meaning that customs officials are ordered to impound shipments of it at ports of entry without physical inspection.
The FDA says in its import alert for kratom that consuming it can cause aggression, agitation, constipation, delusions, hallucinations, loss of libido, nausea, nervousness, respiratory depression, skin hyperpigmentation, sleeplessness, tremors and vomiting.
Both shipments consigned by Mr. Aljufri’s company were put into a CBP hold in compliance with the FDA import ban. Mr. Aljufri went to a CBP container examination station on Aug. 31. He is accused of offering CBP Officer Timothy McDaniel $5,000 per container to try to get them released from that hold, according to the affidavit.
Officer McDaniel ordered Mr. Aljufri to leave the premises immediately and took down his license plate. Mr. Aljufri’s company has been on the FDA “Red List,” meaning products it imports are detained without physical examination, since 2022 after another attempt to bring kratom into the United States, according to the affidavit.
Mr. Aljufri went to the CBP Baltimore Field Office on Oct. 6 to ask about one of the shipments, and on Oct. 14 an undercover CBP officer called him and asked if the price he offered to Officer McDaniel was still on the table, according to the affidavit.
Mr. Aljufri and the undercover officer exchanged further messages and met up in person on Oct. 20 to discuss the deal further.
Mr. Aljufri said he wanted at least one container released before paying the officer, and said at least 10 other such shipments were inbound for the U.S., according to the affidavit. Additional messages regarding the release of both shipments already in the U.S. were exchanged in the days afterwards.
If Mr. Aljufri is found guilty, he will serve up to 15 years in prison for each count of trying to bribe a federal official.
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