Algerian jeweler hospitalized in Istanbul after smuggling 290 banknotes in anal canal

Fırat Alkaç - ISTANBUL

An Algerian jeweler, who has illegally smuggled 290 banknotes worth 144,200 euros in his anal canal, has been sent to his home country after undergoing surgery in Turkey.

Salah Mennaoui, 67, arrived in Istanbul from Algeria to buy gold, daily Hürriyet reported on Feb. 6.

Because there was a limit to the amount of money he could carry with him, he had stashed 288 banknotes worth 500 euros and two banknotes worth 100 euros in his anal canal.

However, when was unable to get the banknotes out, he was rushed to a nearby private hospital after falling ill at his hotel in the Fatih district of Istanbul. The doctors called the police after they noticed the rolled banknotes in his anal canal. After the banknotes were surgically removed, Mennaoui was detained by the police.

“In my country Algeria, I am involved in the gold and textile businesses. I own a jewelry shop. I visit Turkey frequently. In every visit, I bring approximately 50,000 euros with me. I use this money to buy gold and textile products in Turkey. This time, I wanted to buy gold in large quantity,” he told the police.

Mennaoui was sent back to Algeria after the money was confiscated by an Istanbul court order.