A Canadian trucker caught in Somerset County with more than $250,000 in suspected drug money in the cab of his tractor-trailer was arraigned in federal court this week and is being held while awaiting the outcome of an appeal of his release by a federal magistrate.

A state trooper stopped Ebrahim Mansouri, 52, of Ontario, on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Sept. 26 near Somerset because his truck, registered in Canada, didn't have a U.S. Department of Transportation sticker.

When the trooper started asking questions about where he'd been and where he was going, Mr. Mansouri gave evasive answers.

He said, for example, that he hadn't been to Minneapolis, but his logbook showed that he had been there.

Suspicious, the trooper asked for and received consent to search the truck and found $267,400 in vacuum-sealed packages in a closet in the cab, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement affidavit.

A dog also alerted on the odor of narcotics.

The trooper said Mr. Mansouri initially said the money wasn't his, but he later offered the explanation that the cash came from gambling winnings and working for the last five years. He also said he didn't declare the money when crossing into the United States in Detroit, as required, because he said he didn't want the government to find out he owed $15,000 in credit card expenses and a $6,000 Canadian student loan.

An ion scan, however, indicated the presence of heroin and cocaine on the money, the affidavit said.

The government seized the cash; Mr. Mansouri was taken into custody on charges of bulk smuggling and indicted last week by a federal grand jury.

Initially, Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto ordered him held, saying that because he has no ties to the United States "there is a serious risk that the defendant will not appear" for his court proceedings.

After a second detention hearing, however, the judge changed his mind and let Mr. Mansouri go as long as he agreed to give up the money and stay at Renewal Center, Downtown.

The U.S. attorney's office objected and filed an appeal, saying Mr. Mansouri is a flight risk because he does not have a steady job, has often changed residences in Canada and has even, at times, lived out of his car.

In addition, prosecutors said the story about his trucking route doesn't wash. Mr. Mansouri said he dropped off a load of candy and gum in Detroit, then was running empty to Philadelphia to pick up a load to take back to Canada.

"His explanation is dubious given the high per-mile cost of operating an over-the-road truck," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney John Valkovci. "It is doubtful a legitimate trucking company would send an empty truck from Detroit to Philadelphia."

Mr. Mansouri will stay in jail until the appeal is decided.