Sor-wy, wong island.
Posted on 10/21/2005 6:18:45 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
A smuggler arriving from Sydney has been caught at a New Zealand airport with almost $US1.3 million in counterfeit notes.
Mustafa Yousif Ibrahim was arrested at Auckland International Airport as he came off a flight from Sydney last night.
Ibrahim was born in Sudan but is believed to have been made a New Zealand resident in the early 1990s after arriving as a refugee.
A police summary of facts, presented in the Manukau District Court today, said the counterfeit money was found by customs officers as they searched Ibrahim's bags before he came through the entry gate at the airport.
"On searching the ... bags a large amount of counterfeit American currency was discovered.
"The currency was in 158 separate bundles."
Each of the bundles comprised 80 $US100 notes, with the total amount found coming to $US1.26 million, police said.
Police said Ibrahim could not give "any logical explanation" for having the money. He appeared on one charge of being in possession of forged currency.
Ibrahim, who said he was unemployed, was remanded on bail for two weeks and has had to hand over his passport to the police.
Sor-wy, wong island.
Well now, that's interesting.
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