Miami
Detectives dug up more than 2 million nickels—worth $135,200—on a farm near Miami last week. Narcotics agents, acting on a tip, were searching for marijuana plants, but stumbled across a cooler filled with the nickels. A Federal Reserve truck carrying 3.8 million nickels had disappeared in December, so detectives asked the farmer, Jose Alberto Portales, if he knew anything about it. He reportedly admitted that more coins were buried behind a stable. Police accused Portales and three others of plotting to cash in the nickels and wire the money to the truck’s driver, Angel Ricardo Mendoza, whom police say was in on the theft. Nearly 900,000 nickels, about $45,000 worth, remained missing. Mendoza has allegedly fled to Mexico or Cuba.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
