Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police officers arrested Octavious Lamar Dozier, 27, of Atlanta, on Aug. 5 and charged him with transporting a controlled substance into the Commonwealth, and possession with intent to distribute, both felony charges.
Dozier attempted to board a Dublin-bound flight with follow-on travel to Leeds, England, according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
CBP officers inspected checked baggage being loaded onto the Dublin flight and discovered numerous vacuum-sealed packages inside a hard-sided suitcase. Officers intercepted Dozier at the departure gate and escorted him and the marijuana-laden suitcase to CBP’s inspection station for a secondary examination.
CBP officers counted 14 vacuum-sealed packages inside the suitcase. The packages contained a green leafy substance that field tested positive for marijuana, the release said.
The marijuana weighed a combined 10.52 kilograms, or 23 pounds, 3 ounces. The marijuana had a street value of about $90,000, the release said. Depending on potency, this shipment could have fetched two to three times more in Europe.
CBP officers turned Dozier and the marijuana over to MWAA Police officers.
“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.”
