Mexico seizes shipment of ayahuasca from Peru at Mexico City airport

Mexican authorities seized about 930 grams of ayahuasca extract from Peru at the customs area of Mexico City International Airport, the government’s Security Cabinet said Tuesday.

The substance was detected through coordinated customs intelligence work by the National Customs Agency of Mexico and the Navy. Officials said inspectors found inconsistencies in the shipment’s documentation and identified suspicious commercial profiles during operational and traceability reviews at the airport.

Authorities described ayahuasca as a hallucinogenic substance and “a risk to national security.” The ancestral Amazonian drink is made from plants and contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a powerful psychoactive compound used for medicinal and ritual purposes by Indigenous communities. International rules restrict its unrestricted sale and transport.

The Security Cabinet said the joint actions seek to prevent the illegal introduction of regulated or prohibited substances. The seizure comes as Mexican customs authorities and armed forces increase surveillance and inspections at the country’s main air and maritime entry points in response to international trafficking in illicit substances and narcotics.