An Ethiopian has been arrested at Detroit Metro Airport carrying a laptop computer containing mysterious files about cyanide and nuclear materials

David Ashenfelter:

Authorities said Sisayehiticha Dinssa, a U.S. citizen who was born in Ethiopia, was arrested after getting off an airline flight from Amsterdam. They said he had spent four months in Nigeria on unspecified business.

When agents asked him whether he had any cash to declare, he said he had $18,000, authorities said. But when agents checked his luggage, they found an additional $59,000. When they scrolled through his laptop, they said they found the mysterious files. Dinssa told agents he was interested in learning about cyanide and nuclear materials.

Federal Magistrate Judge Donald Scheer approved Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonid Feller's request to detain Dinssa pending a detention hearing on Monday. Between now and then, Feller said, agents would try to find out more about him and the computer files.

He is charged with concealing more than $10,000 in his luggage, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, plus forfeiture of the money.

His lawyer, Deputy Federal Defender Leroy Soles, couldn't be reached for comment.

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