$4M in Gold Stolen in Highway Heist

I-95 bandits forced guards to walk into woods
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2015 10:48 PM CST
Updated Mar 3, 2015 1:47 AM CST
$4M in Gold Stolen in Highway Heist
Wilson County sheriff's deputies investigate an area near Interstate 95, Monday, March 2, 2015, in Wilson, NC.   (AP Photo/The Wilson Times, Brad Coville)

Highway robbery in North Carolina: Police and the FBI are probing a heist on Interstate 95 Sunday night in which around $4 million in gold was allegedly stolen from a truck. Two armed security guards who were transporting the gold from Miami to Massachusetts say that after they pulled over at mile 114 when the truck had mechanical problems, they were approached by three armed men in a van who tied their hands behind their backs and ordered them to walk into the woods, WRAL reports. While the TransValue guards were in the woods, the bandits made off with 275 pounds of gold bars, according to the Wilson Times.

Interstate 95 is a busy road, but the heist took place along a lonely, isolated stretch of it surrounded by woods and farms, reports the AP, which notes that it isn't clear how the robbers were able to get the truck open. TransValue, which is based in Miami, says its guards were not injured in the heist and is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the robbers. The FBI is investigating to determine whether a federal crime occurred, WRAL reports. (In another gold heist earlier this year, thieves made off with gold nuggets from the Wells Fargo History Museum.)

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