BIGGEST GOLD HEISTS IN AUSTRALIA
A lot of people are fascinated by gold. Some fantasize of discovering gold bullion and hitting pay dirt for most of us, gold bullion heists are the stuff we entertain in the darkest corners of our fantasies. They have inspired many blockbuster movies and best-selling crime novels. The thought of living in riches and never having to work a day in your life is a beautiful fantasy that most of us will never live to own the kind of gold bullion that rich people have stashed in their houses. The allure of gold has seduced many to the life of crime and there are some pretty audacious gold bullion robberies that have taken place in Australian history dated back to the 1800s gold-rush.
1. Lachlan River gold heist
In 1862, thousands of people flocked to the small town of Forbes, when some gold miners discovered gold along the vicinity of the Lachlan River in Central New South Wales. The Lachlan River gold rush attracted all kinds of people from legitimate gold prospectors to swindlers and thieves wanting to make money off the sweat of other. In those days, gold was transported by stage coach but these were often ambushed by bushrangers. For this particular one, a bushranger by the name of Frank Gardiner rounded up his gang and they ambushed the stage coach and made off with the gold.
2. The Perth Mint Gold Swindle
The most audacious gold bullion Robbery in Australia that has made it into the history books is the theft of 49 gold bullion bars. The Perth Mint was swindled to hand over 49 gold bullion bars that weighed 68kg and was valued at $653,000. The three men were Brian, Ray and Peter Mickelberg. It is said the brother stole cheques from a building society and managed to convince the mint that the cheques were legitimate and that’s how the mint was swindled to hand over gold bullion bars. The gold disappeared after that. When the brothers were arrested they plead their innocence and maintained that they were not guilty throughout their trials. They spent 20, 16 and 12 years in in jail and they have not said anything about knowing the location of the gold.
In 1989, 55kg of gold was fond outside the studios of TVW-7- a television station in Perth. They gold came with a note that supported the brothers’ innocence their innocence that a prominent businessman was the guilty person in all of this. It was scandalous and people followed the case and tracked the brothers’ lives long after that.
3. The Karl Kachami Robbery
The 80s were the golden age of bullion heists. They were taking place virtually all over. In recent times theft of gold bullion has been on the decline. Between 2017 and 2018, the amount of crime in Australia had decreased by 5%. This was a record nine year low for the country. However, police reported an increase thefts and not just petty theft but armed robbery and robbery of high stakes items. You would think that with that advancement of policing systems and how security has become high tech, robberies would be on the decline and audacious robberies would be a thing of the past. However, one guy decided to take advantage of the COVID-19 situation and score some gold bullion from a Melbourne gold dealer on 1 May 2020 wearing a surgical mask as disguise. Karl Kachami, the 48-year old gold bullion thief was apprehended and the $3.9 million worth of gold bullion was recovered in the Gipsl and rural town of Dollar.
