“Kick Around and Find Out.” That’s the message from Customs and Border Patrol after an Egyptian man kicked a CBP dog named Freddie so hard it went airborne after the dog sniffed out over one hundred pounds of contraband food in his luggage when he flew into Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia on Tuesday.
The Egyptian man was arrested, charged, pled guilty, sentenced to time served and deported in a few days, getting on a plane back to Egypt on Thursday. He was ordered by a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia to pay the veterinarian bill for treatment of Freddie’s bruised ribs.
Kick Around and Find Out.https://t.co/EURMaQX60X
— CBP (@CBP) June 26, 2025
CBP statement:
An Egyptian man pled guilty to federal charges Wednesday after kicking a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog that alerted to undeclared agriculture products in his baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday.
Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70 years old, 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. Marie departed the United States on a flight to Egypt at 12:30 p.m. today.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted Marie.
CBP agriculture detector dog Freddie, a five-year-old beagle, and his handler were inspecting baggage from travelers who arrived from Cairo, Egypt when Freddie alerted to one of Marie’s suitcases. As the CBP canine handler started questioning Marie, he violently kicked Freddie with sufficient force to lift the 25-pound beagle off the ground.
CBP officers immediately descended upon Marie, handcuffed him, and turned him over to Homeland Security Investigations agents for prosecution.
A veterinarian determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right forward rib area.
CBP agriculture specialists conducted a subsequent baggage examination of Marie’s luggage based on Freddie’s alert and discovered 55 pounds of beef meat, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of eggplant, cucumbers, and bell peppers, two pounds of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs. All agriculture products were prohibited from entering the United States and seized.
“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 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.”
CBP video of Freddie in action (without getting kicked):
(Note: CBP apparently spells the dog’s name both Freddie and Freddy.)
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