ISIS killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel sent his family £84,000 just days before his Bastille Day atrocity, his brother told MailOnline.

The Islamic fanatic persuaded friends to smuggle the bundles of cash back to his family in their hometown of Msaken, Tunisia.

Although Bouhlel had been sending small sums of money to his family, his brother admitted that they were stunned by the size of the 'fortune'.

Smuggled cash: ISIS killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel sent £84,000 to his family in Tunisia in the days leading up to his nightmarish attack in Nice

Family: His brother Jaber Bouhlel said the 31-year-old terrorist used to send small sums of money home to family Msaken, Tunisia, since he left his hometown and married in France. But last week he smuggled 'a fortune' back to relatives with friends who were visiting the country

Stunned: His father Mohamed Mondher today described Bouhlel, 31, as 'an angry and violent man'. He said he stopped talking to relatives and he took him to the doctor who prescribed medication for his depression

'Mohamed sent the family 240,000 Tunisian Dinars (£84,000) in the last few days,' Jaber Bouhlel told MailOnline.

'He used to send us small sums of money regularly like most Tunisians working abroad. But then he sent us all that money, it was fortune.

'He sent the money illegally. He gave cash to people he knew who were returning to our village and asked them to give it to the family.'

He'd get angry and shout and broke everything in front of him. He was violent and very ill. Jaber Bouhlel

He added: 'My brother is not a terrorist.'

His father also insisted that Bouhlel was mentally ill and not a radicalised soldier as claimed today by ISIS.

Mohamed Mondher Lahouaiej Bouhlel, whose son killed at least 84 people on Bastille Day, told how he suffered from severe depression in an interview with French TV BMF.

'From 2002 to 2004 he had problems that led to a nervous breakdown.

'He'd get angry and shout and broke everything in front of him. He was violent and very ill. We took him to the doctor and he was put on drugs.

Worry: Mr Mondher said Bouhlel (pictured) suffered a nervous breakdown between 2002 and 2004. He added: 'He'd get angry and shout and broke everything in front of him. He was violent and very ill.'

Home: Bouhlel's family home (pictured) is in a poor neighbourhood in Msaken, around 90 miles south of the capital city of Tunis

Scene: Crowds gather near the family home of truck terrorist Bouhlel, whose family told MailOnline today that he was mentally ill and violent but was 'not a terrorist'

Upset: Bouhlel's father said the family are 'in a state of shock' after hearing details of his attack. An aunt called to tell them Bouhlel had been killed by French police. Pictured, neighbours in Msaken

Killer: Bouhlel's father added: 'Whenever there was a crisis we took him back again. 'He was always alone. Always silent, refusing to talk. Even in the street he wouldn't greet people.'

Attackers: Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who killed 84 people in Nice on Thursday, grew up in Msaken - a Tunisian city just 12 miles from Sousse, where ISIS gunman Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 tourists in June 2015

'Whenever there was a crisis we took him back again.

'He was always alone. Always silent, refusing to talk. Even in the street he wouldn't greet people.'

Mr Mondher said he had no contact with his son after he moved to France from their home in Msaken, eastern Tunisia.

'He didn't come back even when his brothers and sisters called,' he said.

He appeared bewildered as he insisted his son had 'no connection with religion. He didn't fast and keep Ramadan. He drank. He even took drugs.

'We're all in a state of shock at what's happened'

He confirmed that his son and his estranged wife, a French-Tunisian from Nice, were 'not on good terms'.

His brother Jaber also said he had not seen his brother for several years and the money had come as a complete surprise.

The family live in an impoverished neighbourhood in Msaken, some 90 miles south of the capital Tunis.

Msaken is also just 12 miles from the once-popular coastal resort of Sousse, where Tunisian ISIS gunman Seifeddine Rezgui massacred 38 holidaymakers in June 2015.

Defence: Of the fortune he sent home, the ISIS 'soldier's' brother admitted: 'He sent the money illegally. He gave cash to people he knew who were returning to our village and asked them to give it to the family.'

Distant: 'The last time he visited the family was in 2012. He came home to attend the wedding of our sister,' Jaber went on

Home: Jaber added: 'But really we had heard very little from him. 'My aunt called my father to tell her that his son had been killed by French police after his terror attack.'

'The last time he visited the family was in 2012. He came home to attend the wedding of our sister,' continued Jaber.

'But really we had heard very little from him.

'My aunt called my father to tell her that his son had been killed by French police after his terror attack.'

Jaber Bouhlel refuses to accept that his brother is a terrorist – despite his single-handed murder of 84 and the injury of over 200, many seriously, with some 18 people on life-support.

He said he hasn't questioned how his brother accumulated the cash fortune that he sent to his family.

'Mohamed sent us all of his savings, all of his worth in France. He had worked for eight years and this was the money he saved in France,' he said.

Childhood: Bouhlel left his family in Msaken, Tunisia, some years ago and moved to France where he married Hajer Khalfallah with whom he had three children and lived in Abattoirs, a northern suburb of Nice

History: Bouhlel was already known to police for a string of petty crimes including theft and domestic violence, but was not considered to be a terrorist threat. He was involved in a bar brawl in January

Target: Msaken is just 12 miles from the once-popular coastal resort of Sousse, where Tunisian ISIS gunman Seifeddine Rezgui (pictured) massacred 38 holidaymakers in June 2015

Bad apple: Bouhlel never prayed or attended a mosque, and hit his wife - with whom he had three children - and was in the process of getting a divorce, his cousin told MailOnline

He told how Mohamed became depressed following his separation from his wife and three children, now aged five, three and 18-months.

Bouhlel was already known to police for a history of petty crime, including theft and domestic violence, but he was not under surveillance as a terrorist threat.

His court-appointed lawyer, Corentin Delobel, said he observed 'no radicalisation' whatsoever.

Bouhlel had never been place on a radical watch list, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said