Authorities say a heroin smuggler was caught at Washington Dulles International Airport with more than three pounds of the drug in his abdomen, the third time a Nigerian man has been arrested at the airport on heroin-trafficking charges in the past two-and-a-half months. Rasheed Martins, 54, was arrested after he arrived at Dulles from Paris last Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said there were “inconsistencies” in his statements and he was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.
Charging documents filed in federal court in Alexandria say an X-ray revealed pellets in his stomach. He ingested a total of 97 thumb-sized pellets that weighed 1,431.6 grams — or 3 pounds, 2 ounces — according to CBP. The pellets field-tested positive for heroin, court records say, and CBP estimated the value of the drugs as about $100,000.
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Martins’ case is the third time a suspected heroin smuggler has been caught at Dulles in recent months. In a one-week span in late March, two others were arrested.
CBP spokesman Steve Sapp said it’s not clear whether any of the cases are related beyond all three suspects hailing from Nigeria.
The cases show how agents have been able to “stop drug smugglers before they can get their dangerous product into our communities,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent John Torres said.
Christopher Hess, the CBP port director for Washington, said officers use “training and experience with non-intrusive inspection technologies” to block smuggling attempts.
Martins’ attorney declined to comment on the case.
Both of the other Nigerian men arrested in smuggling attempts have pleaded guilty.
Yomade Aborishade, 46, pleaded guilty earlier this month to trying to import the drug. He had ingested nearly four pounds of heroin, worth about $129,000, when he arrived at Dulles on a flight from Ghana, according to court documents.
In May, Ebodor Okenwa pleaded guilty in a similar case. Court records say he was arrested at the airport after arriving from Italy with more than three pounds of heroin in his abdomen.
Both face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years behind bars and could be sentenced to life in prison, according to their plea agreements.
