US judge upholds detention of Ethiopian charged with cash smuggling

Nov 29, 2006 (DETROIT) — A judge on Tuesday denied a request to free an Ethiopian-born man ordered held on cash smuggling charges, saying that while she found some of the defendant’s arguments compelling, they were not significant enough to overrule her colleague on the federal bench.

U.S. District Judge Marianne O. Battani said that an ominous note and materials detailing nuclear power and how to commit suicide found on Sisaye Dinssa’s computer earlier this month at Detroit Metropolitan Airport raised “red flags” in a post-Sept. 11 era and warranted his continued detention. A final pretrial hearing was scheduled for Feb. 5, with trial set to begin Feb. 20.

A federal grand jury last week indicted Dinssa on one charge each of bulk cash smuggling, making false statements and criminal forfeiture.

The 34-year-old was arrested Nov. 14 after dogs caught the scent of narcotics on $80,000 (A60,850) in cash he was carrying from a flight to Detroit from Nairobi, Kenya, via Amsterdam. The U.S. citizen told authorities he had $18,000 (A13,700) to declare and later acknowledged lying, authorities said.

The charges of bulk cash carrying and making a false statement carry sentences of up to five years in prison.

(AP)