A TRANSSEXUAL prostitute was stopped at Belfast City Airport with earnings of £14,000 (€17,778) hidden around his body, a court heard yesterday.
Malaysian national Nor Azmi Bin Mohammad (31), was said to have been charging clients €350 an hour for his services while working in Northern Ireland.
District Judge Fiona Bagnall granted a forfeiture order for the seized cash after hearing Mr Mohammad did not have legal immigration status.
A PSNI lawyer who made the application at Belfast Magistrates' Court claimed the money was "tainted with unlawfulness".
Barrister Tony Smith said Mr Mohammad - who did not attend the hearing - was interviewed after being stopped at the airport on Wednesday and admitted being a transsexual prostitute working within the jurisdiction.
"Whilst there's nothing illegal in that in itself, further inquiries actually indicated that Mr Mohammad was an illegal entrant to the country," Mr Smith said.
A detective constable in charge of the case revealed the cash - a mixture of sterling, euro and dollars - had been "secreted about his person".
Mohammad was detained as he went through the central search area and taken for questioning, the court was told.
The officer said police believed all the money was obtained through services provided by Mr Mohammad, who was allegedly returning to the UK from working in Ireland.
Granting the order, Mrs Bagnall said: "Because of his illegal status any monies which have been obtained therefore are illegal."