Usually, our roofs are filled with dust and cables, so what happens if you stumble across plastic bags filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash?
A Kiwi couple who were settling into their new house made the amazing discovery after an electrician found 5 vacuum-sealed packs of banknotes totaling $232,440. That’s enough money for a house deposit or an early retirement for some.
The couple did the right thing and phoned the police to tell them about the crazy amount of cash they found. The case is now with the High Court which will decide if the couple is allowed to keep it.
So what ever happened to that old expression ‘finders keepers’?
Turns out the police reckon it could be drug money after the property was found to have gang links. The giveaway? Not only is it an unusual amount of money to just have laying around, Police also found that the cash was printed in a "short period". This means there's no way anyone could obtain such an insane amount of money that quickly unless it was through illegal channels.
A University of Canterbury Criminologist Dr Jarrod Gilbert told Stuff there was also a safety risk if the couple kept the money as the original owner could “come knocking” and “they may not ask very politely” for the cash back.
Here in NZ you can also be charged with ‘theft by finding’, so if you stumble across a large amount of money in your travels, don't immediately quit your job and plan your escape to the South of France.
The insane amount of money has been slapped with a restraining order, meaning the couple don’t get access to the funds unless they win the case.
Back in July of this year, a woman in Napier found a "mysterious 17-year-old note” that was addressed to her. Who knew roofs could be filled with so many surprises?
This story may have inspired you to have a look in the dark spaces of your abode for some goodies. But try not to be disappointed if you find a couple of rodents instead of a couple of hundred grand.
