Gold Confiscated in Mexico

[willie pete]

Anyone see this story? pulled it off of shtCo, an american traveling through Mexico with Krugs and GAE's got 'em confiscated at the airport....OUCH >:( Christmas came early for some Mexican customs official :D

http://sify.com/news/150-gold-coins-seized-from-american-in-mexico-news-international-kevkubgaahg.html

[Horn]

That sucks, even the truly rich can't travel these days.

Poor boy, should have made three separate trips.

[k-os]

Damn, that's gotta hurt.

[madfranks]

150 gold coins? Ouch! If I ever had to travel through Mexico, I would never think about carrying that much gold with me!

If those were 1-oz coins, that's a life changing amount of wealth he just lost.

[silverblood]

The article says the coins weight more than 5 kilograms. 150 coins of 1 troy ounce each would weigh 4.67 kilograms, so some may have been more than a troy ounce, or the article listed the weight incorrectly, or both.

Also, the guy showed a receipt for 50 coins at $1171 each. Those must be troy ounce coins.

I wonder why he was going to Panama with 5 kilograms of gold?

[cedarchopper]

He was nervous because he knew he was fixing to get fuked. Receipts or not, he won't be getting it back...the top guy has most of it now and they don't give anything back.

If you were transporting gold through Mexico, you would have to do it a lot slicker than that dude :-X

[Book]

Christmas came early for some Mexican customs official


Just like here in America

:oo-->

[gunDriller]

so, how do you not get hassled in this situation ? by being a jeweler ? by having an Israeli passport ?

[madfranks]

The article says the coins weight more than 5 kilograms. 150 coins of 1 troy ounce each would weigh 4.67 kilograms, so some may have been more than a troy ounce, or the article listed the weight incorrectly, or both.

Also, the guy showed a receipt for 50 coins at $1171 each. Those must be troy ounce coins.

I wonder why he was going to Panama with 5 kilograms of gold?


No, no, no. The initial report was that there was more than 5 kilos of gold, but after one of the higher ups "reviewed" the contents of the bag, it was found that there was actually only 4.67 kilos. Don't worry, after the senior official "reviews" the contents of the bag, I'm sure he'll find that actually there was only a small handful of gold coins, the rest were mistakenly identified as such and they will be returned, unmolested to their rightful owner.

[Occamsrazor]

Turned over to prosecutors? Is it illegal to have gold coins in Mexico?

[hoarder]

The idiot got what he deserved.

I used to work offshore with a "Mexican-American" who married a Mexican gal in Guadalajara. He would go to Mexico once a month for a week to be with his wife. He told me he was thinking of getting a job at the airport in Guadalajara since his father in law already worked there.
I thought that would pay about 5% of what he was making as a roustabout for an oil company in the Gulf. I asked him what it paid.
He said about $1500 USD a month. Now this was in the 80's and I thought $1500 a month was pretty good money for Mexico and I told him so. He said "Well the salary is only about $150 a month but when you add all the customary tips and bribes it comes out to around $1500 a month...."

[willie pete]

I doubt it, the national bank sells 'em, silver too, here's thier price list (in Pesos of course, current X-rate is 1 USD::12.1877 MXN
http://www.cmm.gob.mx/precios/precios.pdf

[SLV^GLD]

What is he being charged with?

[Trinity]

"A fool and his Gold are soon parted."

Unknown author

[chad]

he probably didn't declare it, just like the guy with the 500 ounces going in to canada.

[silverblood]

Why would a government want you to declare your gold upon entry? It's not like vegetables, which could harbor undesirable pests or diseases.

I'm guessing that fighting the War on Terrorism (i.e., domestic surveillance) or the War on Some Drugs (i.e., protection of pharmaceutical corporations) could be offered as excuses. What about taxation? That seems less likely, especially if you're just passing through like this guy, en route to Panama.

[TheNocturnalEgyptian]

Just so you're aware krugs weigh more than one ounce. There is one ounce of pure gold in them, but they're only 90% gold, 10% copper, so they're more than an ounce.

P.S. I hate thievery stories like this.

[silverblood]

Thanks NE. Good point. GAEs are also alloyed. So 150 coins of 1 troy ounce gold content each could weigh over 5 kilograms.

There is no justification for theft.

[Horn]

he probably didn't declare it, just like the guy with the 500 ounces going in to canada.


Correcto, keep it under $10k on international flights or all kinds of money/tax/launderingg laws & checks kick in.

He was probably stupid for showing the receipt, should have told them they were molds for chocolate candies, and worth $50. ;D

[hoarder]

What is he being charged with?
Being a stoopeed gringo.

[Dave Thomas]

What is the impetus behind confiscating gold bullion in this regard?

Does government automatically assume said bullion is destined for no good?

I wonder what laws on the books trump ownership rights.

RICO/DEA/Money laundering laws come to mind.

I have no idea what kind of laws they have in Mexico.

[jedemdasseine]

Krugerrands and Eagles are both .9167 pure. 22 karat. Each has 1 troy ounce of gold.