Not too long ago I had the chance to fly on my dad's plane into Curacao. While the pilot, my dad, and I were waiting for fuel, a small plane came in with a Venezuelan tail number. The pilot and a very well dressed man got out and spoke to the ground crew about acquiring some assistance unloading cargo. While they waited, the older man came over to admire our plane and to tell us how much he had always wanted something similar. Our pilot is a virtual encyclopedia of planes and was asking him about the fuel range of his plane. The man replied that they had been very concerned about the 45 mile trip from Venezuela with the weight of their cargo. The plane didn't look that small so we all became curious about their cargo. Very shortly a team of ground crew and airport police arrived to begin unloading the cargo off the man's plane. I've never actually seen what kilos of cocaine look like, but I have watched loads of Law and Order and therefore felt certain that I was correct in assuming that the large, square packages wrapped in black garbage bags and duct tape being unloaded from the south american plane must surely be drugs. It seemed so obvious, that it prompted a quiet discussion between the three of us about how happy the man seemed to have help unloading his drugs. Were we watching a drug bust, or maybe dirty cops helping a drug lord? We were offered a ride to the customs part of the airport by one of the airport police who was no longer needed at the "bust". As we drove away, I couldn't help asking if the policeman knew what was in those packages. "Oh sure," he says, "The senior is bringing in a load of gold bars." Gold what?! Like Fort Knox, James Bond, Goldfinger type of gold bars?! "Of course," the policeman says like I'm the only person he has ever met that hasn't seen gold bars unloaded before. Frankly I would have said my chances were better at seeing kilos of cocaine come off a plane! My only regret is that we didn't have time to talk further to "the senior". I mean, if he really liked our plane, we were all in agreement that he could have it and any one of us to go with it for just one of his gold bars. I later read in one of the dutch papers that with Venezuela's failing economy and their proximity to the dutch banks in the Netherlands Antilles, that banks in Curacao were having to put a limit on the number of gold bars each person is allowed to deposit. I'm certainly glad to have that knowledge in case I ever come across a stack of them again.
Here is a recent story about more gold bars in Curacao!! I'm sorry that the photo didn't paste with the article because it makes the whole situation even more hilarious. The boat looks like it barely floats let alone runs!
ReplyDeleteCuracao heist: $11.5 million in gold bars stolen from fishing boat
By KAREN ATTIAH
Associated Press
Posted: 12/01/2012 07:46:49 AM PST
Updated: 12/01/2012 08:40:15 AM PST
Click photo to enlarge
The "Summer Bliss" fishing boat sits docked at the Willemstad port in Curacao,... ( Karen Attiah )
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WILLEMSTAD, Curacao -- Police in Curacao said Saturday that they have several leads following a brazen heist in which gunmen pretending to be police stole 70 gold bars worth an estimated $11.5 million from a fishing boat.
Authorities have the license plate number of one of three cars used in Friday's getaway, and they have been asking for the public's help in tracking the suspects, police spokesman Reggie Huggins told The Associated Press.
"There is information coming in," he said. "We are getting reactions from the public, but we still have to sort it out."
Police have said that at least six men were involved, but no one has been arrested in a case that surprised authorities in the Dutch Caribbean island.
Huggins said police are still interviewing the ship's captain and three crew members, which contacted officials in Curacao about the incoming gold shipment as part of regular security protocol. The gold bars weigh about 216 kilograms (476 pounds).
Police declined to say where the gold was being delivered, but one crew member, who identified himself to the AP as Raymond Emmanuel, said they were delivering the gold to an unidentified company in Curacao.
He said the crew left Guyana on Tuesday and arrived in Curacao early Friday. Shortly after the ship docked, masked gunmen wearing jackets with the word "police" assaulted the boat's captain and then stole the gold bars.
Huggins said that security guards allowed the suspects to enter
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a restricted area thinking they were customs officials.
Meanwhile, officials in Guyana said they are investigating whether the gold was indeed mined in the South American country, which is near Curacao.
Environment Minister Robert Persaud told the AP that they have requested details about the gold bars, adding that such shipments are usually flown directly to the buyer and involve heavy security. The ship's crew members have said they weren't armed.
Both Persaud and Anan Balram, director of Guyana's Gold Board, said that if the gold was mined in Guyana, it would be a clear case of smuggling.
"We don't want to jump the gun and say that the gold is from Guyana," Persaud said. "That is what we first have to establish, as well as if the ship many any other stops anywhere else."
Officials said there is no record of the ship, named "Summer Bliss," leaving Guyana's Port Georgetown Harbor, adding that it could have left from a pier at any of the country's numerous rivers.
Guyana produces roughly 650,000 ounces of gold a year, and officials say that up to half that amount is smuggled out of the country to avoid paying taxes. Most of the gold is sold in neighboring Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname.