Airport police at Washington Dulles International Airport arrested a man from Atlanta after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found 23 pounds of marijuana in his checked baggage bound for the United Kingdom.
On August 5, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police charged Octavious Lamar Dozier, 27, with transporting a controlled substance into the Commonwealth and possession with intent to distribute. Both are felony charges. Dozier was attempting to board a flight to Dublin with a connecting trip to Leeds, England.
CBP officers discovered several vacuum-sealed packages inside a hard-sided suitcase during an inspection of baggage being loaded onto the Dublin flight. Officers stopped Dozier at the departure gate and escorted him along with the suitcase to CBP’s inspection station for further examination.
Inside the suitcase, officers found 14 vacuum-sealed packages containing a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana. The total weight was about 10.52 kilograms, or just over 23 pounds. Authorities estimate the street value of this amount of marijuana at around $90,000 in the United States, but it could be worth two or three times more in Europe due to higher demand and prices there.
This incident comes only two days after another arrest at Dulles airport when CBP officers found 59 pounds of marijuana in a Las Vegas woman’s checked luggage on a Frankfurt-bound flight.
According to CBP officials, criminal organizations are increasingly trying to send marijuana through passenger baggage and express air delivery services to Europe where profits can be much higher than in the United States.
While some states have decriminalized marijuana for certain uses, federal law still prohibits its possession and use as well as transporting it across state lines or exporting it from the country.
Dozier and the seized marijuana were handed over by CBP officers to MWAA Police for prosecution. Authorities remind that criminal charges are allegations until proven in court.
“If you smuggle drug loads for criminal organizations, you will be caught and face criminal consequences. Don’t be a fool and do jail time for uncaring gangs that see you as cheap, disposable labor,” said Christine Waugh, Area Port Director for CBP’s Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection officers will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold drug mules and criminal organizations accountable.”
Last year, CBP reported seizing an average of 1,571 pounds of dangerous drugs each day at ports of entry across the nation (https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics). Officers screen travelers and cargo not only for narcotics but also unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit goods, prohibited agriculture items, invasive species, and other products that could pose risks to public safety or economic security (https://www.cbp.gov/about).
CBP is recognized as America’s largest law enforcement organization focused on border management across land, air, and sea operations (https://www.cbp.gov/about). The agency reports employing more than 65,000 people who facilitate legal travel and trade while protecting national security through innovation and collaboration.
More information about recent CBP activities can be found on their official website (https://www.cbp.gov/) or social media channels.
