A 70-year-old Egyptian man pleaded guilty to federal charges for kicking a Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog at Washington Dulles International Airport earlier this week.
Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to a charge of harming a federal law enforcement animal.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when CBP canine Freddie, a 5-year-old beagle trained to detect agricultural products, alerted officers to a suitcase belonging to Marie, who arrived from Cairo. As Freddie’s handler began questioning the traveler, Marie responded by kicking Freddie “so hard that the dog was lifted off the ground,” the affidavit said.
A subsequent inspection of Marie’s luggage uncovered over 100 pounds of undeclared and prohibited food items, including 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of vegetables, 2 pounds of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs. CBP agriculture specialists seized all items, citing possible threats to U.S. agriculture and food safety.
“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over one hundred pounds of undeclared and prohibited agriculture products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenseless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” said Christine Waugh, CBP’s area port director for the Washington, D.C., region. “We rely heavily on our K9 partners, and Freddie was just doing his job. Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
COSTA RICAN COURT ORDERS MIGRANTS DEPORTED FROM US TO BE RELEASED
CBP officers quickly restrained and detained Marie before transferring him to Homeland Security Investigations agents for prosecution. Freddie was later examined by a veterinarian, who reported contusions to the dog’s right front rib area.
The court sentenced Marie to time served, ordered him to pay for the dog’s veterinary care, and directed him to report to CBP immediately for removal from the country. He was deported to Egypt on a flight departing on Thursday.