3 Million Missing Nickels Found

POSTED: Friday, February 4, 2005

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. -- The search for $180,000 in missing nickels ended in the back yard of a Miami-Dade County house Friday.

Investigators said they found the nickels behind this house.

UPDATE: Four Arrests Made

A joint task force including the DEA, FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detectives from the Miami-Dade County Police Department, found the nickels buried in the back yard of a home in an area near Miami known as the Redlands.

Law enforcement officials searched the home Friday morning and found nothing. They searched a smaller house behind the main residence and reportedly found 88 plants believed to be marijuana.

When agents went over the back yard with metal detectors, they hit on the more than 3 million nickels. Officials said the coins were buried in a wooden box, covered in a thick clear plastic tarp buried in a 4-foot deep hole. The coins were still inside Federal Reserve bags, according to police.

The nickels left the Federal Reserve Bank in New Jersey Dec. 17. Three days later the empty truck was found in Fort Pierce. The driver, Angel Mendoza was missing. Police have still not found Mendoza. They believe he is out of the country.

Police are interviewing another man about the plants they found.

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3 Million Missing Nickels Found

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