‘Gas station heroin’ disguised as machine parts seized in Pennsylvania, feds say
Two packages purported to be machine parts were instead stuffed full of a drug commonly known as “gas station heroin,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.
The shipments from Hong Kong were said to be “deep groove ball bearings,” which are used to help connect two machines with little friction, border officials said in a Dec. 13 news release. They were set to be shipped to Edgewater, New Jersey.
Instead, officers in Philadelphia inspected the packages, which arrived separately between Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, and found five bags of a white powder, officials said. They found over 22 pounds of the drug within the packages, the release said.
The powder, described as “gas station heroin,” is a substance called Tianeptine, which is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, border officials said.
The drug is sold in parts of Europe, Asia and South America to treat depression, anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome, according to CBP.
Border officials said the drug is “commonly sold at gas stations and is known to mimic the effects of opioids” and can cause health risks.
Tianeptine is also sold online, at smoke shops and convenience stores in the U.S., but it is labeled as a dietary supplement, officials said. It is sometimes sold as a powder or as a counterfeit pill masking as an opioid, CBP said.
Edgewater is about a 100-mile drive northeast from Philadelphia.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 2:41 PM with the headline "‘Gas station heroin’ disguised as machine parts seized in Pennsylvania, feds say."
