If PSAs from my childhood were any indication, the most earth-shattering discovery a mother could make while doing laundry was a dime sack in the pocket of her son’s favorite jeans. However, an Australian mother is probably wishing that’s all it was following the discovery of $9,000 and her son’s ties to ISIS while washing a pair of her son’s shorts.
What began as an inquiry into how in the hell her son had $9,000 in his pocket ultimately came to a stunning revelation: her son was allegedly working with ISIS operatives.
The mother’s son is said to have been working with 23-year-old Oarjan Azari and 26-year-old Ali Al-Talebi, two men who are currently accused of making thousands of dollars available to ISIS in two separate Western Union money transfers last year.
Prosecutors told the mother’s son he will not be prosecuted, provided he testify against Azari and Al-Talebi. He accepted the deal.
At a committal hearing, it was revealed that the mother’s son assisted in the two transfers from last year, but did not transfer the $9,000 because he disagreed with the fees related to the transfer, ultimately leading to his mother’s horrifying discovery while just casually doing laundry one day. The court was also told that the mother’s son was younger than Azari and Al-Talebi, and that he was under their influence. Prosecutor Peter Neil stated that the purpose of the transfers was “to end up supporting Islamic State activities in Syria and Iraq” and entered into evidence around 7,000 pages of secretly recorded telephone conversations.
Barrister Steven Boland, representing Azari, told the court there was no evidence the money was “ever received by any terrorist organization” and that there was a lot of evidence suggesting the opposite. Prosecutor Neil rebuffed the argument, telling Boland that “whether they got their hands on it or not is another question.”
This kind of gives a whole new meaning to “laundering money,” doesn’t it? Ba-dum-tiss!
