"If you find any treasure, let me know!"
This instruction, given by French woman to the three workers she had hired for landscaping work, was meant as a joke. But the unfortunate homeowner failed to see the funny side when the workers found -- and then stole -- $1.2 million in gold buried in the bottom of her garden.
According to the French regional daily Paris Normandie, three men will soon appear in court in northern France charged with theft, after uncovering and stealing 16 gold bars and hundreds of gold coins in a couple's garden.
The three workers, hired to level out the couple's garden in view of a house extension raised Tracfin's – a service from the French ministry of finances tasked with fighting money laundering –suspicions after one of them cashed in two checks worth 270,000 euros ($361,000) and 30,000 euros ($40,000) into his account.
Called in by the police services to justify these unusual transactions, the worker immediately caved in and revealed the whole story, according to one of the police officer cited in Paris Normandie.
He revealed that after several days of working in the garden, the mechanical shovel dumped against a solid object and the workers found themselves looking at glass jars filled with 600 gold coins and 20 U.S. dollar coins from 1924 and 1927 as well as 16 gold bars, each weighing one kilogram.
<More at the links>
French builders steal $1.2M in buried treasure
Builders in France charged with theft after finding treasure buried in garden | World news | The Guardian
This instruction, given by French woman to the three workers she had hired for landscaping work, was meant as a joke. But the unfortunate homeowner failed to see the funny side when the workers found -- and then stole -- $1.2 million in gold buried in the bottom of her garden.
According to the French regional daily Paris Normandie, three men will soon appear in court in northern France charged with theft, after uncovering and stealing 16 gold bars and hundreds of gold coins in a couple's garden.
The three workers, hired to level out the couple's garden in view of a house extension raised Tracfin's – a service from the French ministry of finances tasked with fighting money laundering –suspicions after one of them cashed in two checks worth 270,000 euros ($361,000) and 30,000 euros ($40,000) into his account.
Called in by the police services to justify these unusual transactions, the worker immediately caved in and revealed the whole story, according to one of the police officer cited in Paris Normandie.
He revealed that after several days of working in the garden, the mechanical shovel dumped against a solid object and the workers found themselves looking at glass jars filled with 600 gold coins and 20 U.S. dollar coins from 1924 and 1927 as well as 16 gold bars, each weighing one kilogram.
<More at the links>
French builders steal $1.2M in buried treasure
Builders in France charged with theft after finding treasure buried in garden | World news | The Guardian
