A military vehicle collector who discovered gold bars worth millions of dollars hidden inside a tank has expressed his regret over his decision to notify authorities of the once-in-a-lifetime find.
Nick Mead, 62, of Northhampton in England, made international headlines in 2017 when he discovered five gold bars concealed in a decommissioned tank.
Mead had purchased the ex-Iraqi Army Type 69 on eBay. When inspecting the diesel tank of the 36-tonne war machine, he discovered gold bars valued at £2 million ($AU3.81 million).
It’s believed the bullion was looted by stolen by Iraqi soldiers during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Six years after the discovery, Mead told the Daily Mail that informing authorities of the discovery was something he regretted.
“I regret handing it in. I should have at least got a finders’ fee for it but I got absolutely nothing. When we found the gold bars, we didn’t know what to do with them. It’s not like you can take five gold bars down to the pawn shop. So we called the police,” he said.
“Gold has a fingerprint. They know where it’s been mined. It was definitely stolen from Kuwait. At the time, there were all these wonderful conspiracy theories claiming we had kept it. But I haven’t got any money for it, sadly.”
The vehicle was purchased for £30,000 ($AU57,000) after the previous owner completed a restoration project without discovering the gold. Each gold bar weighs approximately five kilograms.
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