A man has pled guilty to federal charges after kicking Freddie, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport on June 24.
Freddie and his handler were inspecting baggage from travelers who arrived from Cairo, Egypt when Freddie alerted to one of the suitcases.
“As the CBP canine handler started questioning the man, he violently kicked Freddie with sufficient force to lift the 25-pound beagle off the ground,” CBP reports.
Federal agents immediately descended upon Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, a 70-year old man from Egypt. They handcuffed him, and turned him over to Homeland Security Investigations agents for prosecution.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted Marie. He pled guilty during an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia to harming animals used in law enforcement (18USC1368).
“He was credited with time served, ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee, and to immediately report to CBP for removal from the United States,” CBP reports. Marie departed the country on a flight to Egypt at 12:30 p.m. on June 26.
A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right forward rib area, CBP says. He was ordered rest and a mild dose of pain meds. Freddie is expected to return in a week.
The examination of Marie’s luggage based on Freddie’s alert and discovered 55 lb. of beef meat, 44 lb. of rice, 15 lb. of eggplant, cucumbers and bell peppers, 2 lb. of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs. All agriculture products were prohibited from entering the U.S. and seized.
“Being caught deliberately smuggling well over 100 lb. of undeclared and prohibited agriculture products does not give one permission to violently assault a defenseless Customs and Border Protection beagle,” says Christine Waugh, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “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, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”
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