JFK Airport: Man stopped trying to board flight to Qatar with $770,000 cash in luggage, say police
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Version 0 of 1. A man trying to fly to the Middle East out of a New York airport was allegedly stopped with $770,000 hidden in cash among boxes of soap, stickng plaster and indigestion tablets. Abdulkarim Altareb, 48, was trying to board a plane to Qatar on March 1 when US Customs and Border Protection officers asked him to declare the cash he was carrying, the New York Post reported. Mr Altareb said on a Customs form that he had $6,500 – under the $10,000 limit – but then pulled out just $5,870, court papers stated When agents at JFK International Airport than made a full search they found the cash il rolls of $100 and $50 bills. Police say the cash was found in the luggae of a passenger at JFK Airport “Cash was also hidden in soles of shoes, and in the lining of a jacket inside of one of the checked bags,” read a criminal complaint, filed in Brooklyn court on Tuesday. When Homeland Security officers showed up to question the Yemen-born Mr Altareb, he said, “We are trying to build a building in Yemen. This is my brothers’, two brothers’ money,” the complaint said. “The defendant also said, in sum and substance, that some of the money was his money, and some of the money belonged to his family, and that he has a big family.” A law-enforcement source told the newspaper said there was no indication that the money was meant for terrorist or violent groups. Mr Altareb has yet to comment on the alleged incident. |