US soldiers in Iraq seized a truck believed to be loaded with 2000 gold bars worth as much as $762.8 million during a routine search near the Syrian border.
"The bars may have a total worth of 500 million US dollars, depending on carat weight and purity," the US Central Command said.
Soldiers from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment stopped the Mercedes-Benz truck and its two occupants yesterday in Al Qaim, finding the 18 kilogram bars, which measured 10 centimetres by 13 centimetres by 25 centimetres.
"The occupants told the soldiers that they had been paid a total of 350,000 dinars ($534) 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.
News of the find came as senior US military sources insisted there would be no special deals with Uday Hussein, playboy son of ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam.
I WONDER WHAT THEY DID TO IT ?
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