A 70-year-old Egyptian man pleaded guilty in federal court this week after he kicked a Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog during a bag search at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie was charged with harming an animal used in law enforcement for kicking a 5-year-old beagle named Freddie hard enough to lift the 25-pound animal off the ground, CBP said in a news release.
The dog suffered contusions on the right side of his ribs.
Freddie and his handler were inspecting baggage when the dog "alerted to one of Marie's suitcases," the agency said. "As the CBP canine handler started questioning Marie, he violently kicked Freddie."
CBP said Marie was attempting to bring in several items of food, including illicit agriculture products. Among his belongings, CBP said its agents found 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of eggplant, cucumbers, bell peppers, two pounds of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs.
Various foreign agricultural products are prohibited from being brought into the United States in order to protect the country's native plantlife from disease and invasive species.
"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 D.C.
Marie was ordered to pay the dog's veterinarian bill and on Thursday was ordered removed back to Egypt.
"We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job," Waugh said.
"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," Waugh added.
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