Man in court over £69m at airport
16.10.07
A 49-year-old Jordanian national appeared in court yesterday accused of trying to take £69m out of the UK late last week. Omar Yousef Diab Mohammed was arrested at Durham Tees Valley Airport on Friday after police found cheques and bank drafts in a toilet bag within his luggage.
At Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court Mr Mohammed, of Manor Wood, Coulby Newham, Teesside, was charged with attempting to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. He was remanded in custody.
The court heard how he was due to fly to Egypt, via Amsterdam, when he was stopped by police at the airport on Friday afternoon. Magistrates were told that the money included two bank drafts, each for €50m (almost £35m).
The magistrates declined jurisdiction and remanded Mr Mohammed in custody until next week. No pleas were entered. He will appear by videolink before magistrates at Newton Aycliffe on October 24.
The court heard that Mr Mohammed is a Jordanian national with a right to reside in the UK and had married an English woman, had 3 children and had lived in Coulby Newham for the past 10 years.
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