Iran arrests beggar with thousands in pockets, more in bank

A beggar arrested in Iran Wednesday had millions of rials (thousands of dollars) in his pockets and a great deal more in two bank accounts, an official said.

A picture taken on April 11, 2011 shows Iran's biggest denomination currencies, 100000 Rials and 50000 Rials in Tehran. (BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/GettyImages)

A beggar arrested in Iran Wednesday had millions of rials (thousands of dollars) in his pockets and a great deal more in two bank accounts, an official said.

The unidentified 64-year-old, a former street vendor, was stopped by a police patrol cracking down on beggars in Bukan, an official in the northwestern city was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.

On searching him, they found he had 110 million rials ($3,370/2,696 euros) in his pockets.

And subsequent investigation showed he had two bank accounts with another $47,550 in them.

No details were given on how the man had managed to amass such a sum of money, which was confiscated and will be used to finance a community social welfare centre.

Last month, President Hassan Rouhani ordered police to clear the streets of beggars and to identify the criminal networks behind some of them.