Man caught carrying $2.5 million in cash at Istanbul airport

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet photo.

Police have discovered 2.5 million dollars in cash in the handbag of a Libyan passenger at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, daily Hürriyet reported.

The passenger had to check in yesterday in Istanbul when he missed his transit flight from Libya to Jordan. He was caught with the money in his bag at a second security point after purchasing a new ticket from Jordan Airlines.

Counting the money took six hours with a banker and a money counter.

Custom policies require passengers to notify officials when transferring large amounts of cash, but the unidentified man had failed to do so. The passenger said he was carrying the money because of "commercial reasons" and did not think he had to inform the authorities. 

The money has been seized by police and delivered to the Turkish Central Bank, while the passenger was sent to court.