Jihadi Drug Dealer

Here's a story from The Telegraph about a young Muslim woman who was caught trying to smuggle £16,000 in cash, in her knickers, which she planned to pass on to a UK 'jihadist' who is apparently in Syria at the moment, doing God knows what to God knows whom.

Now the trial is still underway and I'll be interested to hear the verdict, but how plausible is the defence that this large sum of cash was intended for buying a property in Turkey, as if banks and bank transfers had never been invented.

And as for Hamza, this religious fanatic seems to have built up quite a little nest egg from his drug dealing past.    


Student smuggling cash to Syria in her knickers 'got feeling she was stitched up', court hears

Nawal Msaad, 27, says when she was first offered £800 to do a 'job' she thought it was hairdressing

Nawal Msaad and Amal El-Wahabi arrive at the Old Bailey Photo: PA



By Tom Whitehead - The Telegraph

A student recruited to smuggle £16,000 in her knickers to an alleged jihadist fighting in Syria said she had been “stitched up” by her friend.

Nawal Msaad, 27, said her co-accused Amal El-Wahabi had "not been completely honest” with her over the money she was taking for the latter’s husband, the Old Bailey heard.

She also revealed when she was first offered around £800 to do a “job” away for a couple of days she thought it was a hairdressing assignment.

Msaad, 27, was caught at Heathrow Airport with 20,000 euros in her underwear which was intended for El-Wahabi's husband, Aine Davis – an alleged jihadist fighting in Syria.

Msaad had been promised about £800 to act as a “trusted courier”, the court previously heard, but immediately admitted to having the money when stopped in January this year.

The euros were found in large sums tightly rolled up and stuffed in her knickers as she tried to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.

Msaad, a London Met human resources undergraduate from Barnsbury, north London, said she had always had a "soft spot" for her friend, who she had known since school.

The jury has been told the money is believed to have come from Davis’ drug dealing past.

But asked by her barrister Naeem Mian, if she felt she had been "stitched up", Msaad said: "She was not completely honest with me about where the money had come from and so I do get that feeling.

"I do get that feeling that I was being stitched up."

Msaad said she had no idea that the money may have been for terrorist purposes or that it was the proceeds of drug dealing.

El-Wahabi arranged the deal with Msaad on January 13, sending her a message on WhatsApp asking: 'u wana do a job?'

She told her she would have to go away for two days and would be paid 1,000 euros for it.

Msaad told the court: “I was curious what the job was, I thought it may be it have been something to do with hairdressing.

“I'm a hairdresser on the side, I've been asked to do Amal's hair and asked to do Amal's mother's hair, and I thought it might have something to do with that.”

She admitted that once El-Wahabi, 27, of north London, then told her she was asking her to do the job because she trusted her she realised it was nothing to do with hairdressing.

She later had a phone call with Davis, who also known as Hamza, on January 13 who asked her to bring 20,000 euros over.

Msaad said she believed the cash was for a new house as she thought the family planned to set up home in Turkey.

She insisted she didn't think she was doing anything illegal.

She said: "I asked him 'Are you allowed to bring that amount of money over?'

"The way he sounded was really reassuring. He said 'It's fine, you can bring that amount of money', I had no reason to doubt him."

Both women, who are British, deny one count each of “entering into or becoming concerned in an arrangement as a result of which money was made available or was to be made available to another, and they knew or had reasonable cause to suspect that it would or may be used for the purposes of terrorism between Jan 13 and 16, this year.”

The trial continues.