I-70 Traffic Stop Turns Up $300K In Cash, Undocumented Jordanian (Al Qaida Operative?)

Like Canadian figure skaters, Sevier County sheriff's deputies thought they had seized Olympic gold with the arrest of a man they immediately suspected as an al-Qaida operative carrying cash and drugs.

But federal authorities say they will be the judge -- and they are scoring the extraordinary catch as a routine drug bust.

But officials in the rural central Utah county are not so sure. On Tuesday, the Sheriff's Department issued a press release praising the deputies' arrest of a motorist from the Middle East country of Jordan on Interstate 70 who had $300,000 cash in his trunk.

The announcement said: "We feel very strongly that this is linked to the terrorist activities that are going on in the United States."

On the front page of Sevier County's weekly newspaper, The Richfield Reaper, Sheriff Phil Barney trumpeted: "A little inquisitiveness resulted in a tremendous success." Maybe so. But not so fast.

While not absolutely ruling out a terrorism link, federal authorities investigated and determined the man is probably nothing more than a possible drug dealer, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.

Utah's director of public safety, Robert Flowers, who heads the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, is willing to take the feds' word for it. "If our intelligence says it's nothing, we don't pay a lot of attention from the perspective of the Olympics."

The man, an undocumented immigrant, has not been charged with any federal or state crime, but the county is still investigating as he sits in jail on an Immigration and Naturalization Service hold, said sheriff's Deputy Charlie Ogden.

The traffic stop seemed routine. Ogden said deputies Bryant Johnson and Todd Gardner pulled over an eastbound car that had crossed over the center line on Interstate 70 near Richfield on Saturday. The vehicle contained the Jordanian man and two other undocumented immigrants, a woman and a 15-year-old boy.

The driver consented to a search of the car, Ogden said, but when officers popped the trunk, he asked the deputies to stop searching.

After a drug dog sniffed a possible illegal substance, the deputies obtained a search warrant and discovered a black suitcase containing $300,000 cash and a small amount of marijuana, Ogden said.

During questioning, the driver claimed the suitcase belonged to his brother, whom he claimed has ties to a terrorist organization in Jordan. Deputies contacted the FBI and the three were taken to Salt Lake City and jailed.

The driver told officers the three had picked up the money in Los Angeles and were headed to Chicago. From Chicago, the man said, he was planning to fly to Jordan, Ogden said.

Deputies contacted the police department in La Grange, a Chicago suburb, and found that in a police report taken last year, the wife of the driver's brother had claimed her husband may have had some involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

La Grange police checked the couple's computer and discovered the husband had been looking for information on terrorism before the attacks.

"But federal authorities say they will be the judge -- and they are scoring the extraordinary catch as a routine drug bust."

But...

"During questioning, the driver claimed the suitcase belonged to his brother, whom he claimed has ties to a terrorist organization in Jordan. Deputies contacted the FBI and the three were taken to Salt Lake City and jailed. "

"Deputies contacted the police department in La Grange, a Chicago suburb, and found that in a police report taken last year, the wife of the driver's brother had claimed her husband may have had some involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. "

"La Grange police checked the couple's computer and discovered the husband had been looking for information on terrorism before the attacks."

__________

Ahem, is this part of a federal policy to allay and cover up fearful incidents before they announce a general illegal alien amnesty?

The Richfield Reaper newspaper

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.

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