A 26-year-old British student accused of attempting to smuggle over $27,000 in her underwear for Syrian fighters appeared in court on Thursday.

Nawal Msaad and her alleged co-conspirator Amal Elwahabi, who are of Moroccan descent, are the first British women facing terror charges over the Syrian conflict, the UK-based newspaper Daily Mail reported.

Msaad, who is an undergraduate student at a London-based university, was arrested in Heathrow airport last week before boarding a flight to Istanbul with the cash – wrapped in cling film - in her underwear.

Soon after, police detained Elwahabi, who is also alleged to be part of a plot to smuggle money through to a suspected British jihadist in Syria.

Both wept and hugged each other as they appeared in a central London court.

British police said that schoolgirls as young as 17 have been detained at UK airports over Syrian terror links.

So far this year, 14 have been arrested for suspected involvement in Syria-related terrorism.

Counter terrorism command chief Richard Walton told a London newspaper that it was “almost inevitable” that radical Syrian fighters would plan terrorist attacks in the UK on their return.

British police are currently looking to place Syrian terror suspects under surveillance, as well as attempting to catch UK-based “facilitators” organizing jihadist missions to Syria.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:42 - GMT 06:42