Libyan nabbed with $2.5 mln at Atatürk Airport
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Detained Libyan is thought to have been used as a ‘courier’ to launder money. AA Photo
Police seized 2.5 million dollars in cash at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport yesterday after discovering the money in the carry-on luggage of a Libyan transit passenger.The passenger, 33-year-old Anwar M. T. Zad, reportedly works as a driver for a Turkish company and is thought to have been used as a “courier” to launder money, Turkish police sources told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.
The sources said there was no indication that the suspect had any ties with terrorist activity.
Zad said he was carrying the money because of “commercial reasons” and did not think that he had to inform the authorities that he was carrying so much cash. Custom policies require passengers to notify officials when transferring large amounts of cash.
The passenger had to check in yesterday in Istanbul when he missed a transit flight from Libya to Amman, 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, according to reports.
Police sent Zad to court while delivering the confiscated money to the Turkish Central Bank.
