Customs agent faces charges in ecstasy bust

U.S. attorneys accuse Devon Samuels of laundering drug money and smuggling cash and weapons

Published December 16, 2010 9:10PM (EST)

Prosecutors in Georgia say they have seized 700,000 tabs of Ecstasy and have charged a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent along with 13 others in what they say was a large-scale drug trafficking scheme.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Thursday authorities seized the Ecstasy worth more than $2.8 million at a house in Chamblee in northeast Atlanta.

Customs agent Devon Samuels is charged with laundering drug money, smuggling cash and attempting to bring weapons onto an aircraft.

Prosecutors say an officer posing as a money launderer gave the 45-year-old Samuels $22,000, which they say he smuggled to Jamaica.

Samuels is also charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Authorities say he was paid $900 to help a couple in a sham marriage deceive customs officials.


By Greg Bluestein

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