Dimes and dash! Bizarre Philadelphia theft sees a million DIMES – worth $100,000 – stolen from back of truck left in Walmart parking lot overnight
- A million dimes- worth $100,000- were stolen from the back of a truck left in a Walmart parking lot overnight at Philadelphia Mills Mall on Thursday
- It was broken into using bolt cutters and the dimes which weigh around 5,000 lbs were taken
- It is not clear if there was just one suspect or if the heist involved a group of people. No one has been arrested so far
Police in Philadelphia are investigating a bizarre theft which saw a million dimes- worth $100,000- stolen from the back of a truck.
The trailer left in a Walmart parking lot overnight at Philadelphia Mills Mall was broken into using bolt cutters and the dimes, which weigh around 5,000 lbs, were taken off with.
Officers responded to reports of the theft at 6am on Thursday but by the time they arrived, the lot was empty and thousands of coins were scattered across the parking lot.
It is not clear if there was just one thief or if the heist involved a group of people. No arrests have been made.
There was $750,000 worth of dimes in the truck which were picked up from the US Mint located in the old city in Philadelphia Wednesday and were supposed to be delivered to Florida.
The driver drove north east of the city where he lives and left the trailer in the car park overnight to go home and get some rest, according to police.
A million dimes- worth $100,000- were stolen from the back of a truck left in a Walmart parking lot overnight at Philadelphia Mills Mall on Thursday
Police are investigating the bizarre theft in which a truck was broken into using bolt cutters and dimes, which weigh around 5,000 lbs, were taken off with
There was $750,000 worth of dimes in the truck which were picked up from the US Mint located in the old city in Philadelphia Wednesday and were supposed to be delivered to Florida
But a million dimes were stolen and thousands sprawled across the parking lot floor by the time driver returned.
It took a crew hours to clean up the mess left by the thief as they scrambled to get away.
Authorities do not believe the driver was targeted but said the circumstances surrounding this incident are bizarre.
They say it is ‘common practice’ for drivers to pick up loads and park their trucks overnight to get on the road in the morning.
Cargo thefts in the area are very common, according to Captain John Ryan from Philadelphia Police Department.
He said: ‘There’s been a lot of cargo thefts here and there in Northeast Philly and South Philadelphia over the ensuing months where we’ve had lamb, chicken, TVs, refrigerators, etc. taken, alcohol.’
A dime weighs around 2.27 grams according to the US Mint website, so the million dimes stolen weigh around 5,000 lbs.
‘That’s a lot of labor too, moving that amount of weight,’ Captain Ryan added.
It took a crew hours to clean up the mess left by the thief as they scrambled to get away
Cargo thefts in the area are very common, according to Captain John Ryan (pictured) from Philadelphia Police Department
Residents in the neighborhood woke up to the sound of helicopters searching the area for the suspect.
Jasmine Waters told CBS News Philadelphia: ‘I heard the helicopters, so I looked out of the window and saw everything blocked off and I was like what is possibly going on?’
Police are looking at surveillance footage in the parking lot to find out who broke into the trailer and whether they had accomplices.
The investigation is ongoing and no one has been arrested so far.
John Chu, the acting chief of public affairs at the US Mint, said in a statement: ‘The carrier responsible for the shipment is a commercial contractor and is personally insured against incidents of loss or theft.
‘The Mint has implemented countermeasures to aid in the prevention of similar types of thefts in the future. The Philadelphia Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into the theft.’
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