By Debbie Schlussel
Yesterday, Eskender Henareh Mafarani was sentenced to 37 months in prison for trying to smuggle into the U.S. more than $2.1 million in U.S. cash, six cell phones, and a laptop computer in late 2008. The cash was wrapped in 130 bundles and it and the cellphone and computer were hidden inside Mafarani’s truck as it attempted to cross into the U.S. from Canada over the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit. Mafarani lied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
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But press reports refer to Mafarani as only a “Canadian.” Here’s the full scoop on Mafarani: he is an Iranian Muslim of Kurdish descent who emigrated to Canada. Because of the way the money was packaged and the multiple cell phones, ICE agents believed that he was involved in drug dealing. And it appears he could also have been involved in terrorist financing. According to documents concerning Mafarani, he made many trips in and out of the U.S. from Canada, using similar trucks. X-Ray images caught the hidden cash. Check out the affidavit signed by ICE Senior Special Agent Anthony C. Romolino in the Federal Criminal Complaint against Mafarani.
