A Baltimore man is accused of trying to bribe a port official to allow entry of kratom, which is barred from import by the Food and Drug Administration.
Zen Aljufri, 61, is charged with two counts of trying to bribe a federal official, in this case with Customs and Border Protection 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 that left Malaysia on July 12 and arrived in Baltimore on Aug. 23, according to an affidavit…