The FBI is investigating a $625,000 gold heist that took place at Miami International Airport on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, several gold bars worth $625,000 were stolen just minutes after they were unloaded from a plane at the airport. The theft occurred at around 5 a.m. right after American Airlines Flight 902 from Guayaquil, Ecuador landed at the airport. The AA flight was carrying the gold, a Miami-Dade Police incident report says.
The plane docked at Gate D3 and five workers removed the gold from the cargo area. A box of gold was placed on a cart. At one point, the motorized luggage cart, or tug, was taken to the other side of the plane and left there. It isn't clear who moved it. A tug from Gate D6 stopped at the cart before going to Gate D37 and then it went into an alleyway, where it could no longer be tracked by surveillance video. Police found the cart in front of D19 later on.
Miami International Airport is a major trans-shipment point for large amount of gold that is produced in South America and exported mostly to Switzerland for refining.
The police report didn't say who owned the gold or where it was going. American Airlines did not give any details about the incident either. They said that they were assisting authorities with the investigation.
"The FBI is aware of the situation," FBI spokesman Michael Leverock told Reuters in an email.
This isn't the first time a large heist took place at an airport. In February, thieves got away with $50 million worth of diamonds that they stole at Brussels' International Airport. The men were masked and had a well-planned method for carrying out the heist.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
