NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Greg Robinson during the 2014 NFL Draft – Allen Kee / ESPN Images
(EL PASO, Texas) — Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Greg Robinson was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration in El Paso, Texas, after he was found with 157 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle at a checkpoint.
Robinson, according to a federal complaint, was charged by the Department of Justice Wednesday with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Also arrested and charged was another former NFL player, Jaquan Tyreke Bray, 26, who played for three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts from 2015-2017.
The pair approached the Sierra Blanca checkpoint station, where a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit alerted authorities to their vehicle, the DOJ said in a statement Wednesday. Agents then asked Bray to park the vehicle in the inspection area for further investigation.
A subsequent inspection by agents, according to the complaint, revealed 157 pounds of marijuana inside several large duffle bags in the back of the vehicle.
Robinson allegedly rented the vehicle in Los Angeles Sunday and arranged for a third person to drive the three of them to Louisiana, the complaint said. The DOJ said the third person was an Uber driver Robinson met in 2018.
When the trio reached El Paso and was getting inspected, authorities said Robinson asked the Uber driver to take the fall for the marijuana and that he’d pay him later. The driver purportedly refused and told Robinson he wouldn’t have agreed to drive them had he known they were transporting drugs.
Both suspects are being held without bond pending an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge. If convicted, Robinson and Bray face up to 20 years in prison.
After playing with the team for the past two seasons, a Browns team source told ESPN the organization previously told Robinson that it would not re-sign him for the 2020 season. Robinson was selected with the second pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He also previously played for the Detroit Lions.
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