<

Manila Police Seize 104 Passports
Friday, February 8, 2002
(11:01 GMT)
The BBC

Philippine police have arrested a Malaysian man at Manila international airport who was carrying 104 passports and $50,000 in cash.

The man arrested, Azmi Bin Salleh, said he was a travel agent based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He had planned to board a flight to Kuwait, with a stopover in Bangkok.

Police said the passports could have been intended for use by members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, but there was no immediate evidence to support this.

A report by aviation security chief Brigadier General Marcelo Ele said Mr Bin Salleh was carrying a map of Afghanistan and a mobile phone with the name Osama Bin Laden displayed on the screen. But officials conceded this was not a criminal offence.

Officials said Mr Bin Salleh, 42, was still being investigated and they did not know if he would be charged.
(More: BBC.co.UK News Source)
2002 © The British Broadcasting Corporation.

Dan