That’s 2 million coins, which would weigh in at around 10,000 lbs, for those who are curious
by Sebastien Bell
4 hours ago
by Sebastien Bell
A tractor trailer carrying dimes from the Philadelphia mint to its equivalent in Miami was the target of a recent theft. Police say that thieves made off with around $200,000-worth of 10 cent coins on the morning of Thursday, April 13.
The coins were stolen from a trailer that was parked overnight in a Walmart parking lot in Northeast Philadelphia. One trucker (who was not involved in this incident) told CBS News that the circumstances surrounding the theft were unusual.
Police say that truck’s driver picked up $750,000 worth of coins at the mint on Wednesday, which were headed towards Miami. However, the driver first headed Northeast, and left the trailer in the parking lot overnight, in order to go home and rest.
Read: Thieves Make Off With Trailer Containing A Not-So-Discreet 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT4 Race Car
“With me, I can drop it off. That’s what I’m supposed to do,” the driver who wasn’t involved in the case said. “But you’re not supposed to leave it unattended, no.”
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While the truck was parked overnight, thieves broke into the truck just after 6:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. Police interviewed the driver, and do not believe the truck was targeted. They said that although some of the details are odd, cargo thefts like these are common.
“There’s been a lot of cargo thefts here and there in Northeast Philly and South Philadelphia over the ensuing months where we’ve had lamb, chicken, TVs, refrigerators, etc. taken, alcohol,” said Capt. John Ryan.
Authorities are now looking for “10 or more males” wearing black clothing in relation with the case. Although they initially believed that $100,000 in dimes were missing, they now believe the number to be closer to $200,000 – that’s 2 million coins, which would weigh about 10,000 lbs (4,536 kg), making this case all the stranger.
Meanwhile, crews were left to clean up what was left of the coins, which were scattered across the parking lot and took hours to collect. Police say their investigation is ongoing, but no arrests have yet been made. They may want to keep an eye on the city’s Coinstar machines, though.