A 36-year-old man has been remanded in custody after police discovered a large sum of cash hidden in a car at Belfast Port.

Entri Michalai, of Hansart Way in Enfield, north London, was detained on September 24 after getting off an overnight ferry from Liverpool. Police stopped the Mercedes E-Class he was driving when it disembarked.

A search of the vehicle located a sophisticated concealment area inside the fuel tank. Officers recovered 15 packages of cash containing a total of £173,690.

Michalai was arrested and interviewed but provided no comment. He is charged with possessing criminal property.

At Belfast Magistrates' Court, a detective said Michalai is also allegedly implicated in a similar seizure at Dover Port in January. National Crime Agency officers stopped another Mercedes E-Class driven by a different man and discovered an identical storage area containing £200,000 in cash. The detective said Michalai's fingerprint was recovered on one of the concealed bags from that seizure. He has not been charged in connection with that incident.

Police opposed bail, claiming Michalai could re-offend or flee. A phone confiscated from him has been fast-tracked for analysis, and a forensic report on DNA and fingerprints from the packaging is expected in February 2027.

Defence barrister Paul Bacon said Michalai's family and friends could lodge £40,000 in cash sureties to secure his release, and he has been offered employment with a builder. However, Deputy District Judge Gerard Trainor refused bail and remanded him in custody until November 26.

The judge stated that the proposed sureties did not represent sufficient grounds to admit him to bail given the seriousness of the charge.