He flew from Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale. He’s now in federal custody

Late last month, Leonardo Brown, a Bahamian who also lives in Florida, received a phone call from someone in the Florida Keys wanting to buy a little over two pounds of cocaine for $20,000.

Brown, 41, who was in the Bahamas when he received the call, flew to Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 23 with the drugs, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent assigned to Key West.

Once he landed, Brown rented a Nissan Versa and drove to Key Largo. There, he met the person who called him, who was a DEA informant, at a parking lot, where the two agreed to drive to a different location to make the sale.

On the way, they were followed by DEA agents and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies. After Brown “failed to yield right of way to an oncoming vehicle,” a traffic deputy pulled him over.

A woman and an infant were in the car’s back seat, according to the complaint. While deputies checked Brown’s information on the Bahamian driver’s license and passport, a Miami-Dade County Police Department K-9 unit arrived to check his car.

A drug-sniffing dog went for a computer bag on the car’s front passenger seat. The bag held a sheathed knife that had what turned out to be cocaine powder residue on it, according to the complaint.

In the car’s trunk, police found a brick of cocaine that weighed about 2.2 pounds, the complaint states.

Deputies arrested Brown on trafficking charges and let the woman and infant go.

On Saturday, DEA agents served a search warrant on Brown’s Florida home, according to the complaint. Neither the complaint nor the sheriff’s office said where in the state he lives.

As of Thursday night, Brown was being held in Key West jail on a bond of $250,000.

Federal prosecutors have not yet charged him, but the DEA complaint is for a charge of possessing “with intent to distribute” 500 grams or more of cocaine.