70āYearāOld Egyptian Arrested After Kicking Freddie the BeagleāHe Tried Smuggling 100+āÆlbs of Food Through Dulles Airport!
It was an ordinary morning at Washington Dulles International Airport, with travelers weaving through baggage claim and the gentle hum of rolling wheels. Among them was Freddie, a five-year-old beagle with a job far more important than looking cute. Hunched over a suitcase, ears perked, tail alertāFreddie was a part of the elite CBP āBeagle Brigade,ā trained to sniff out food that shouldnāt cross U.S. borders. When Freddie alerted on one travelerās beaten-up suitcase, no one couldāve guessed how tense the scene would get.
That traveler was a 70-year-old man from Egypt named Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy AlyāÆMarie. Heād arrived on a flight from Cairo, wheeling two heavy bags. Freddieās nose acted faster than anyone: he worked his way around Marieās bag, signaling for his handler. What followed was a moment that stunned everyone nearby. Instead of cooperating, Marie lashed out. He violently kicked Freddie so hard the little beagleāa mere 25 poundsāflew off the ground. Witnesses say the airport froze for a second. The handler and CBP officers rushed in. The shock in their eyes was real.
Freddie, trembling but brave, lay on the floor for a moment before being gently picked up and taken to veterinary care. He had bruises on his right front ribāa painful reminder that sometimes heroes get hurt on the job. CBP spokesman Stephen Sapp later shared that Freddie was prescribed rest and light pain medication. Even so, he was back on duty in less than a week, celebrated with a well-earned Pup Cup from Starbucks. It wasnāt just a happy endingāit was proof that Freddieās spirit wasnāt broken.

A Costly Mistake and a Lesson in Respect
Once the dust settled, customs officers inspected Marieās luggage. What they found was astonishingāmore than 100 pounds of undeclared food products. There were 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of vegetables like eggplant, cucumbers and bell peppers, plus corn seeds and herbs. All that food was packed loose, with no U.S. import permits, and standard agricultural rules strictly prohibit it. These rules exist to prevent harmful pests, diseases or contaminants that could devastate crops and livestock here.
CBPās Area Port Director for Washington, Christine Waugh, addressed the situation in strong terms: āBeing 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.ā Her words reflected the emotion felt by everyone who works with these dogsātheyāre more than trained animals; theyāre partners.

Marie was arrested and charged under federal law 18āÆU.S.C.āÆ1368 for harming animals used in law enforcement. He pled guilty during his first court appearance. He was credited for time served in custody, ordered to pay $840 for Freddieās vet bills, and deported the next day, back to Egypt. That was the swift justice CBP promised.
This incident stands out because it highlights two lessons. One: donāt ignore customs rules. Meat, rice, seeds, vegetablesāif you donāt have proper clearance, it stays home. Two: hurting a working animal isnāt just morally wrongāitās illegal. Doing so guarantees serious consequences, including jail time, fines, deportation, and a ban from re-entry.
Itās easy to spot viral social media moments when a dog is involved. Weeks later, CBPās official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a photo of Freddie enjoying a Pup Cup with a caption thanking everyone for their concern. Comments flooded in: āPoor doggo ā¤ļøā or āHe was just doing his job. No excuse to hurt him.ā Support poured in from all corners. Some asked if punishments should be even tougher. Others focused on Freddieās glowing recovery, celebrating CBPās quick response.
Freddieās story reminds us of the Beagle Brigadeās real impact. These dogs and their human partners screen thousands of passengers every day. Last year alone, CBP said their teams intercepted nearly 3,600 prohibited plant and animal productsāplus 247 insect pestsāacross U.S. entry points every day. Without them, agricultural diseases could easily sneak in, threatening crops, livestock, and even local economies.

Picture it: a single smuggled pest crawling into exported goods, then spreading through a state or even country. What starts as a small bug could cost billions. Thatās why CBP invests in painstaking training for these dogs. And why they deserve respectānot violence.
Think back to the image of Freddieās face. Eyes wide, nose damp, stuck in that moment between work and fear when he was kicked. Itās an emotional snapshot: a brave working dog, the epitome of innocence, attacked for doing his job. Yet less than a week later, heās back at work, tail wagging, ready to sniff luggage again. Thatās the resilience built by love, training, and teamwork between handlers and dogs.
Thatās also the deeper story hereānot just that a man got deported for kicking a dog. Itās that Freddie and his kind carry heavy responsibility. Their noses guard health, crops, and borders. Their work isnāt glamorous. Itās often overlooked. But itās essential. When people cross borders, these dogs do tooāinto baggage, into crowds, into the unknown.
For travelers, the takeaway is clear: obey customs rules. Declare food items, even if they seem harmless. And remember that behind every detection dog is someoneāa handler, a trainer, a veterinary teamāinvested in that animalās well-being.
Freddieās return to duty wasnāt just routine. It was a statement that kindness and respect matter. That tough laws exist to protect animal workers. And that sometimes, the smallest heroes teach the biggest lessons.
Freddieās story spread across news sitesāWashington Post, Fox News, WTOP, Newsweekāand across social platforms. But in the end, the real narrative is simple: a dedicated animal doing his job, a traveler making a desperate mistake, and laws stepping in to set things right. Thereās a powerful emotional core hereābravery, justice, recovery, respectāand thatās what makes this story stick.
So next time youāre inching through baggage claim, and a small official dog sniffs your suitcase, give a nod of thanks. That beagle might just save crops, families, and communitiesāall by doing what comes naturally. Freddie did his job, got hurt, recoveredāand made sure a rule-breaker faced the consequences. In the world of border protection, thatās a story worth telling.