US seizes truck with suspected 500 million dollars in gold bars in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AFP) US soldiers in Iraq seized a truck loaded with what was believed to be 2,000 gold bars worth as much as 500 million dollars at a routine search at a checkpoint near the Syrian border, the US military said Friday.
"The bars may have a total worth of
500 million dollars, depending on karat weight and purity,"
the US Central Command said.
Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment stopped the Mercedes
truck and its two occupants Thursday in Al Qaim, finding the 40-pound
(18 kilogram) bars, which measured four inches (10 centimeters)
by five inches (13 centimeters) by 10 inches (25 centimeters).
"The occupants told the soldiers that
they had been paid a total of 350,000 Dinars (350 US dollars)
to pick up the truck in Baghdad and drive it to an unnamed individual
in Al Qaim," the US Central Command said in a statement.
The occupants said they had been told the bars were bronze but
authorities believe the bars were made of gold and are having
them tested.