London-born student tried to smuggle 20,000 euros inside her underwear to fund jihadists fighting in Syria London: Two women, including a British student, today appeared in a court here accused of arranging to smuggle cash to jihadists in Syria after one was allegedly found with 20,000 euros in her underwear. Nawal Msaad, 26, from north London and Amal El-Wahabi, 27, from north-west London appeared at the Old Bailey. Msaad had 20,000 euros (16,300 pounds) in her underwear when she was stopped by police at Heathrow airport while trying to board a flight to Turkey on January 16, the court was told. Prosecutors claim Msaad was recruited by her friend Wahabi to take the money to her husband who was fighting with jihadist groups in war-torn Syria. Both women deny all charges. Prosecutor Mark Dennis said the 20,000 euros had been collected in Britain and was destined to support the jihadist cause in Syria. When El-Wahabi was arrested at her home address, her phone rang and officers noticed the incoming call showed the international dialling code for Turkey. Mr Dennis said: “That time period coincided with the time when whoever was waiting to meet the Msaad, or to hear from her, upon her arrival at Istanbul Airport would have realised that she had not been on the flight from London. “It was no doubt Davis, or someone on his behalf, trying to find out what had gone wrong.” Msaad, a human resources student at London Metropolitan University, was promised a reward of 1,000 euros if she successfully smuggled the money to an intermediary in Istanbul in circumstances of secrecy and mutual trust, jurors were told. The court heard that when she was stopped at Heathrow, she told police she was planning to buy gold for her mother. Asked how much cash she had on her, Msaad said she had 20,000 euros around me. She was then taken by counter-terrorism officers to a private room, where she pulled from her underwear a roll of banknotes, totalling 20,000 euros. The prosecution also said that the smuggling attempt had been instigated by El-Wahabis husband Aine Davis, who, it was claimed, is fighting with jihadists in Syria.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 21:03:24 +0000
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