Federal authorities have released information about the apparent theft of more than 2 million dimes from a tractor-trailer on April 13 that was en route from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
The large truck was reportedly on its way to Miami when the driver pulled into a parking lot to sleep. Overnight, four individuals stole a large portion of the $750,000 worth of dimes inside the trailer. The Associated Press reported that there were coins strewn across the parking lot.
The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the thieves got away with $234,500 worth of dimes, adding that the heist was part of a spree of robberies that netted the four individuals involved frozen crab legs, meat, shrimp, beer, and liquor from trailers passing through the region.
The four men allegedly involved in the scheme are as follows: Rakiem Savage, 25; Ronald Byrd, 31; Haneef Palmer, 30; and Malik Palmer, 32. They are all facing charges of conspiracy, robbery, and theft of government money. If they are convicted of the charges, they could spend decades behind bars.
Detectives initially stated that surveillance footage appeared to show six men involved in the scheme, all dressed in gray hoodies and equipped with bolt cutters. The men allegedly unloaded the money into smaller bags, then put them into a waiting truck.
The AP reported that the indictment — unsealed on Friday — claimed that following the theft, the suspects converted thousands of dimes into cash by visiting at least four different Philadelphia banks.
Aaron J. Chalfin, a professor of criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, suggested that it was likely those who committed the crime knew that there would be money inside.
“Millions of dimes is a lot of money,” Chalfin said. “So it doesn’t seem so silly.”
As a result of the theft, officers had to clean up the dimes that had been left behind in the parking lot, collecting them all into buckets, according to Officer Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department.
Officer Torres went on to suggest that individuals who were collecting coins at the time should not attempt to cash them in at a bank, given the nature of the investigation.
The four suspects remain in FBI custody and are scheduled to show up for detention hearings before a U.S. magistrate judge on Monday.
Police: Estimated 1 million dimes stolen from truck in Philadelphiawww.youtube.com
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