Sevier County Sheriff's deputies Bryant Johnson, left, and Todd Gardner arrested a man who was transporting nearly $300,000 from Los Angeles to Chicago Saturday. The man, Hisham Saleh Hammad, 21, is suspected of having links to terrorists through his brother, Tereq Hammad.
Man with suspected terrorist ties busted
“After a routine traffic stop Saturday, Sevier County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man who is suspected of having ties with and transporting money for terrorist networks.
Deputies Bryant Johnson and Todd Gardner pulled a vehicle over about 6 p.m. for a traffic violation. When they spoke to the driver of the car, deputy Johnson noticed a strong perfume or car freshener smell, according to Sevier County Sheriff Phil Barney.
Johnson and Gardner proceeded to question the driver, Hisham Saleh Hammad, 21, who said he didn't have anything illegal in the car and invited officers to search his vehicle. When the officers opened the trunk they smelled the odor of marijuana. At this point Hammad told the officers to stop the search, which they did, according to Barney.
"It's a time consuming thing to get a search warrant, but it's the right thing to do and they did," said Barney.
After a drug sniffing dog, owned by deputy Kelvin Williams, hit on the trunk of the car, a search warrant was obtained and the search continued. Inside the trunk of the car the officers found a bag of marijuana and a suitcase which contained nearly $300,000.
Initially, the subject refused to talk to officers, but then requested to talk to Sheriff Barney.
"I reminded him he had the right to remain silent and he told me he wanted to talk," said Barney. [Yup. :) ] During the interview, Hammad claimed he was from Kuwait and that he didn't know anything about the money except that his brother had asked him to transport it from Los Angeles to Chicago.
Barney contacted personnel at the Joint Terrorism Task Force, who are in Salt Lake City for the Olympics, and they requested the sheriff's office to gather more information. As the search of the car continued, deputies found evidence of three different names. The sheriff's office sent the names and Hammad's fingerprints to Washington, D.C., for analysis.
Hisham Saleh Hammad was found to be from Jordan and his brother, Tereq Hammad, is on the list of suspected terrorists.
Tereq's spouse had been in contact with Chicago police in November. She told Chicago authorities that she hadn't seen her husband for quite some time and felt that he was involved with terrorist activity, according to Barney.
Hisham was transported to Salt Lake City where he was taken into custody by the FBI. "At this time he [Hisham] is cooperating with the FBI," said Barney.
Barney said he feels very strongly the money confiscated by the sheriff's office was intended to be used to finance terrorist activities. "A little inquisitiveness resulted in a tremendous success," said Barney.
"Our basic job is the safety of Sevier County," said Barney. "Money, drugs and bombs are all in a vehicle at some point and I-70 is a major route. I don't mind if my officers are on the freeway while they are not busy. I feel strongly that Sevier County is part of Utah and part of the United States of America and we need to do our part.
"These deputies were doing their part," said Barney
. Deputies also took two passengers who were in Hisham's car into custody, including Maria Anduaga, 20, and a 15-year old juvenile.