Al Qaeda suspect arrested with $12m in forged cheques

US Customs agents have arrested a suspected al Qaeda member carrying $12 million in fake cheques.

US Customs agents have arrested a suspected al Qaeda member carrying $12 million in fake cheques.

Jordanian-born Mr Omar Shishani was detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving from Indonesia.

Officials say the 47-year-old's name appears on a list of people trained in Afghanistan by al Qaeda.

The Washington Postsays he's being held on forgery charges and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

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One official said: "The September 11 attacks only cost $500,000 in total. One shudders to think what they could do with $12 million."

Another said: "We don't know what he was up to, but he was coming from Indonesia, he had $12 million in bogus cheques, he was born in Jordan and his family is from Chechnya. There is a lot of smoke there to investigate."

Joint Terrorism Task Force agents in Detroit searched his home in Dearborn, Michigan where he lives with his wife.

The Customs Service said in a statement: "The arrest of Omar Shishani and the seizure of $12 million in counterfeit cashier's cheques by US Customs officials in Detroit demonstrate the effectiveness of US border security systems and the improved inter-agency co-ordination since September 11."