THOUSANDS of pounds in cash were seized from a man police suspected of supplying Libyan nationals with fake student visas, a court heard yesterday.

Hamza Mohammed Uasin Tahir Aribi arrived at Durham Tees Valley Airport on January 10 with £4,000 in cash, only one change of clothes for a ten-day stay, and three contradictory letters about who he was working for, Darlington Magistrates’ Court heard.

Police seized the money and questioned Aribi.

He told officers he was staying at the Swallow Hotel, in Stockton, which had been closed for two years, and was the son of the owner of a Libyan school that sent students to study in the UK.

He said he was staying for ten days to meet the head of a school in Stockton.

Police checked the address and found the premises was an office above a shop, with a handwritten poster in the window.

The court heard that further investigations indicated the school had closed in 2009 and that 53 applications had been made for Libyan nationals to be sponsored there.

He initially said the money had been given to him by a friend, who he refused to name, then produced a receipt written in Arabic that he said was from an accountant and showed the money had been withdrawn.

Police also found three letters on Aribi. The first said he was the general manager of an oil and gas company. The second said he was the general manager of a hotel company and the third said he was a general manager of Electrolux.

Police followed up the Electrolux letter – the only one which contained contact details – and were told the company had never employed anyone of that name either in the UK or abroad.

Aribi returned to Libya, leaving police an email address, but no postal address or other details with which to contact him.

Stephen Mooney, representing Durham Police Authority in a private prosecution for the forfeiture of the cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act, said: “This (the cash) is a likely profit from securing bogus visas for Libyan nationals, which is a very serious crime.

“The evidence would suggest this is how he makes his money.”

He said the inconsistencies in Aribi’s story reinforced the police authority’s case.

He said every opportunity had been given to Aribi to come to court and defend the civil proceedings.

The case had been adjourned five times, and Aribi contacted on each occasion through an email address he had been known to reply from, said Mr Mooney.

Magistrates ordered the forfeiture of the cash in Aribi’s absence.