Posted on 08/11/2004 6:03:29 PM PDT by jimbo123
MINNEAPOLIS -- A woman was arrested after attempting to board a flight en route to Syria with more than $24,000 in cash hidden in her clothes, officials said Tuesday.
Amneh Ahmad Abbas, 49, a Syrian citizen who lives in New Orleans, was charged Monday with trying to evade currency reporting requirements, the U.S. Attorney's office said. She was ordered held without bail.
The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on whether Abbas, who has permanent resident status in the United States, is suspected of involvement in terrorist activity. However, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was taking part in the investigation.
The United States has imposed trade sanctions on Syria on grounds the Arab state was allegedly supporting terrorism.
According to the criminal complaint, Abbas was detained Friday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as she attempted to board a Northwest Airlines flight. Her ultimate destination was Syria.
Abbas told officers she had $9,919 and 4,200 Syrian pounds in a fanny pack and purse. But officers found a parcel containing $22,400 and an envelope with another $1,600 hidden in her clothes, the complaint said.
The United States requires people entering or leaving the country with amounts of $10,000 or more to report it to customs authorities.
If convicted, Abbas would face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Another hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
Article date 8/10/04
Normally I am very opposed to currency siezures. But, in this case, we have a clear prohibition on moving money into Syria.
ROTFLMAO
A tip to would be smugglers...........Forget stuffing it in your socks. Our crack crime solvers are all over that one.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4919562.html
Abbas' arrest at the airport comes just over a month after the arrest at the airport of Ali Mohammed Abboud Almosaleh, who has since been indicted on three counts of lying to authorities.
Almosaleh, who was arrested July 7 while stepping off of a flight from Amsterdam, is accused of lying to airport officials about his Mideast travels. He also is accused of lying about a video disc he was carrying that contained calls for resistance against the United States.
Officials have declined to say whether his arrest is related to terrorism.
Remember last year when Don Johnson was caught at the German Border with 50 BILLION in bearer bonds? After a bunch of diplomatic craziness, they let him go with no questions.
I didn't realise that.
Not that I'd ever be carrying that amount of cash on me, ANYWHERE.
I just didn't realise that there was such a low restriction on the amount of cash you can bring with you into the US.
I presume the US customs authorities don't mind visitors to the US spending more than $10,000 when on vacation, as long as it's on credit card? ;-)
Not racially profiling or anything...
5.56mm
Apparently he didn't know that you have to be a Democrat to successfully employ this technique.
I think it was 8 billion. Didn't he tell the authorities he was on his way to buy a car?
How many more Islamofascists with permanent US resident status are operating openly here while the next 9/11 plan is being perfected? I wouldn't be surprised if there are thousands.
Al Qaeda is using female mules to send their money overseas prior to the upcoming attack, just like they did in the weeks prior to 9/11.
Oh yeah, we're talking about that rules for thee and not for me thingie..........
I just heard he filed for bankruptcy, what a big spender? His Aspen grocery sued him for $6000 bill, must have been for one day! LOL
Last night on the Tony Snow show I was listening to....Michelle Malkin said "thousands."
When terrorists strike, we blow crap up elsewhere, where the lunatics came from. We certainly don't do anything to anyone here. As a matter of fact, the ACLU will petition to protect you if you are profiled unfairly.
I'm donating cranial panties. We need the rest of her ring.
Al didn't have it in his sock. He had it in a secret moldy compartment.
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