Thieves Find $500M Treasure in Derelict Mansion

Spanish aristocrat Jaume Grau-Pla's cunning strategy of hiding the family treasure in a derelict mansion he thought thieves would overlook didn't work. Loot worth an estimated $500 million, including jewels and relics dating back to the 12th century, was stolen from the Catalonia mansion by thieves tipped off by a part-time gardener who peeked through the windows, the Guardian reports.

Police have arrested two men and recovered around 85% of the treasure, which Grau-Pla, the descendant of a medieval baron, kept in glass display cases on plain view inside the scruffy building. "I keep the house run-down on purpose as a way to camouflage the high-value collection I keep inside," Grau-Pla explained to the Spanish press.
(More theft stories.)